Labour MPs hit back at expenses leaks

By Stefano Ambrogi

LONDON (Reuters) - Labour MPs fought back against damaging leaks about their expenses published in a newspaper on Saturday, with at least two threatening legal action over the new revelations.

In day two of the latest expenses row to engulf the government, the Daily Telegraph published expenses claims made by a number of junior ministers whom it accused of cynically exploiting House of Commons rules.

The fresh leaks came a day after the paper reported details of expenses submitted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other senior cabinet ministers.

Two Labour MPs, Margaret Moran and immigration minister Phil Woolas, said the reports were wholly inaccurate.

The Telegraph said Moran spent 22,500 pounds of taxpayers' money to treat dry rot at a seaside house she has designated as her second home, 100 miles from her constituency.

Moran countered that she had done nothing wrong. "Everything (claimed) is fully within the law. There are gross inaccuracies and it's potentially actionable," she told the BBC.

Woolas called the paper's reporting "absolutely disgusting" and denied he had claimed for nappies and women's clothing. He also said he would be seeking legal advice.

"I think the reporters misunderstood the system. The allegations against me include items on receipts that weren't claimed for -- they were on a food receipt from a supermarket," Woolas told Sky News.