Mr Martin is heading up a Commons inquiry into MPs' expenses The Commons Speaker's wife was within her rights to claim back £4,139 spent on taxis - largely for shopping trips, Parliament's standards chief has said. John Lyon said the claims since 2004 were "reasonable" as Mary Martin can use a £2,500 allowance to support her husband in his official role. Rejecting an official complaint, he said the claims were "not excessive". Michael Martin said some of the food bought was eaten by the couple, but some was used for hospitality. The TaxPayers' Alliance, who submitted an official complaint about the claims, said: "If this is within the rules, then the rules need tightening up." 'Wait and return' The commissioner had been investigating Mrs Martin's claims of £4,139.17 for 156 taxi journeys made since 2004 - mainly for shopping trips - following the pressure group's complaint. In an interview with Mr Martin he was told some of the food and items bought on the trips were consumed by the couple - some was used as refreshments at meetings in his grace-and-favour apartment. It was reasonable, within the terms of the 2002 arrangement, that the Speaker's wife should be able to buy necessary clothing and items for his court dress
John Lyon
Parliamentary standards commissioner And he was told that, about once a month when the House of Commons was in session, Mrs Martin would do her shopping at a large supermarket and keep a taxi on a "wait and return" basis - because they were "not easy to hail". There were also other trips to smaller shops for "further provisions and perishables", official clothes for Mr Martin and decorations for official functions. In those cases, the return journeys were paid for by the Martins. The claims included trips to the Martins' private home in north London as well, to drop off papers, and to a store to pick out new furnishings for the Speaker's residence. 'Ease burden' According to the minutes of the meeting with Mr Martin, since 2002 the Speaker has been able to claim up to £2,500 a year for taxis for "normal official business". The allowance was provided to allow Mrs Martin to ease the burden on her husband by doing the shopping "to support him in his official duties". If this is within the rules, then the rules urgently need tightening up
Mark Wallace
TaxPayers' Alliance The Speaker told Mr Lyon he had "tremendous pressures" on his time from early in the morning to late at night and his job often demanded that he be in the House of Commons. Mr Lyon dismissed the Taxpayers' Alliance complaint and strongly supported Mrs Martin, saying the claims were "not excessive". He wrote: "The current Speaker receives considerable support from his wife in preparing and enabling him to carry out his official duties in the way and to the standard which he requires of himself and his office." 'Shocking' He added: "It was reasonable, within the terms of the 2002 arrangement, that the Speaker's wife should be able to buy necessary clothing and items for his court dress to enable him to carry out his official duties." Mr Martin is currently heading up an overhaul of the MPs' expenses system and is fighting a Freedom of Information ruling that a detailed breakdown of MPs' second homes allowance should be published. Mark Wallace, the campaign director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, who submitted the complaint, said it appeared the trips were "more for food for the Martins than for official functions". "If so, it's shocking that they are able to use taxpayers' money for taxis to do their domestic grocery shopping," he said. "If this is within the rules, then the rules urgently need tightening up." "We are all being told to tighten our belts in these tough times - it's about time the Speaker of the House of Commons set a good example and stopped indulging himself with other people's money." The row over Mrs Martin's taxi trips led to the resignation of the Speaker's spokesman, Mike Granatt, earlier this year. Mr Granatt quit after he unwittingly misled a journalist about reports Mr Martin's wife claimed £4,000 taxi expenses since May 2004. He has said officials did not tell him the whole truth. The commissioner's memorandum was published by the Standards and Privileges Committee, which does not usually produce a report when a complaint has been dismissed. But the committee said today that it wanted to "put the matter to rest" and had "no hesitation in endorsing both the decision of the commissioner to dismiss the complaint, and the grounds on which he did so."
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The Right Honourable Michael Martin MP, the Speaker of the British House of Commons, faces a vote of no confidence this week. This motion will be launched by Tory Douglas Carswell MP. Martin addressed the House of Commons at 15:30 BST (14:30 UTC).

The Right Honourable Michael Martin MP in 2008Speaker Martin has faced much controversy over his handling of a recent scandal involving the expenses of Members of Parliament (MPs). Martin defended the House of Commons' authorities that requested a police investigation with regard to this leak, causing anger amongst many MPs.

In his statement, the Speaker apologised to the public saying that "we have let you down". He also personally apologised: "I am profoundly sorry". He acknowledged that "each and every member, including myself, must work hard to regain your trust".

Sir Christopher Kelly will release a report in Autumn about expenses, and the Speaker said that the House should take steps until then and MPs should not file further expense claims. Some MPs urged an interim report to be published before this. The Speaker urged leaders of all Parliamentary parties, including the Prime Minister, to meet with the Speaker and House of Commons Commission within 48 hours to discuss expenses.

After the speech, various MPs asked the Speaker questions. Carswell asked "when will members be able to choose a new leader?" and David Winnick MP asked for information about when the Speaker will retire. Bob Spink, the Independent MP for Castle Point, said that his constituents did not want the Speaker to be a "scapegoat". Labour MP for Middlesbrough, Sir Stuart Bell, said "the majority of the House will support this statement you made today" and noted "never in history has there been such an attack on Speaker".

In the UK, attacking the Speaker defies a long-standing tradition; the last Speaker to be forced from office was Sir John Trevor in 1695 for accepting a bribe.

Even before the speech, MPs from all major parties have supported this motion; Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has urged the speaker to resign. On his blog, Carswell claimed that he 'continues to pick up support for the motion'.

Martin's friend, the Labour Lord Foulkes, has suggested Martin is a victim of snobbery, as the Speaker is "someone from a working class background in Glasgow".

In the past, Martin has been involved in several past scandals, including that he made excessive claims for the use of taxis, and for over £1,600,000 spent on the Speaker's residence.