NORTH-East MP David Miliband has been dragged into the expenses row after it was revealed he claimed £50 for photographs of himself line dancing.
Mr Miliband, the Foreign Secretary and the Labour MP for South Shields, South Tyneside, charged the bill for the photos to the taxpayer so he could put a picture on his website.
Whitehall officials blacked out most of the details of the claim, but left his name visible, misspelt as “Milliband”.
The Taxpayers’ Alliance campaign group accused Mr Miliband of a “ludicrous waste of a money”.
Matthew Elliot, the group’s chief executive, said: “Politicians usually spend money to make themselves look more statesmanlike.
“David Miliband must be hoping that these photographs are not used by the press overseas, or he’ll be the laughing stock of foreign ministries and embassies around the world.
A spokeswoman for Mr Miliband defended the purchase of a CD containing the pictures, taken at a line dancing lesson in Cleadon Park community centre, South Shields, in 2005.
“They were bought by his constituency office for use on his website,” she said.
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