CLARE Short today insisted “I am straight as a die” after she was accused of claiming thousands of pounds she was not entitled to from House of Commons expenses.

But she said: “This is not a scandal. It is a genuine mistake.

Details of the £8,000 over-payment emerged when her expenses claims were published by a national newspaper.

“I repaid the money because the fees office pointed out the error.”

Ms Short said she had always given the House of Commons fees office full details of her mortgage arrangements, and she believed they should have spotted the error sooner.