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@dicki
Six months after he became the MP for Boston and Skegness in 2001, Mr Simmonds bought a large house in Putney, south London, for £650,000.
From 2001 to 2009, the mortgage interest was paid by the taxpayer, with the Tory MP claiming more than £2,000 a month to cover the cost.
His wife, Lizbeth, became his part-time office manager, receiving £20,000 to £25,000 a year. However, after the expenses scandal of 2009, several new rules were introduced.
Instead of claiming for the mortgage interest on the Putney house, Mr Simmonds could now claim only for renting in London.
Because his constituency house was designated as his main home, he could claim rental costs in London.
With the inflow of Liberal Democrats into government after the election, Mr Simmonds became parliamentary private secretary to the then environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, rather than receiving the ministerial role he might have expected.
Soon after these changes, Mr Simmonds sold the Putney house for £1,187,500 in the autumn of 2010 — an increase of £537,500 on what he originally paid.