Shropshire Euro MP Jill Seymour denies wrong-doing in expenses row

Mrs Seymour, who lives in Kynnersley, near Telford, has denied any wrongdoing and said all procedures had been complied with.

The row surrounds the Ukip member's constituency office opposite the former Clifton Cinema in Bridge Road, Wellington, which is owned by her husband Brian.

Mrs Seymour, who will also be fighting The Wrekin parliamentary seat at May's General Election, was elected to the European parliament last May.

It is alleged that five months later her husband, Brian, a 78-year-old businessman, bought the former council building through his private pension pot.

Mrs Seymour now uses her European allowance to rent the property.

Labour MP Kevin Barron, chairman of the Commons standards committee, said such an arrangement "would be deemed an abuse of the allowances" in Westminster.

A spokesman for Mrs Seymour denied any suggestion of wrongdoing and said there was no investigation taking place either by the EU or Ukip.

He said: "The property is rented out at market value as assessed by three independent estate agents. "

Mrs Seymour declined to say how much was being paid in rent, but nearby commercial properties of a similar size are typically available for £10,000 to £20,000 a year.

However, Mr Barron said the disclosures threw up "moral issues" regardless of whether the arrangements were against EU rules.

"It does make you wonder exactly what type of regime they have in Europe, if they have a regime at all," he said. "This is public money, no matter what its source."

There is no specific ban on using the EU general expenditure allowance to pay a partner for office space, although there are wider rules warning against conflicts of interest, including financial contracts that benefit a partner.

The office block, called Independence House, was officially opened last month. Mrs Seymour was joined by fellow West Midlands MEP Jim Carver when she cut the ribbon at the official base for her six-strong team.

It was also revealed that a second Ukip MEP, Jane Collins who represents Yorkshire and the Humber, was operating from an office belonging to a company owned almost entirely by her long-term partner, Mike Kendall, and his two children.

She contributes around £7,200 a year in running costs, a set-up described by a party spokesman as "totally in line with European Parliament rules as they stand".