High-profile MP Esther McVey, a former TV personality turned candidate for the Tory leadership, is under scrutiny following revelations that she submitted expense claims of £8,750 for the services of a personal photographer. The photographer in question is a press and PR shooter called Jonathan Farber, who worked with the MP over a two-year-period. Some of his photos were used by Ms McVey to show her support for paddle boarders in their campaign against plastic pollution, while others were taken at a Women’s Institute event.
Despite some questions over why McVey spent so much on a personal photographer when she champions the frugal virtues of ‘blue-collar Conservatism”, there are no suggestions of illegality as spending money on ‘communications’ is allowed by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).
