A BURNLEY-born former Government minister was told today to apologise to Parliament for claiming expenses to cover the cost of insuring his wife's £8,000 engagement ring.

Shahid Malik claimed a total of £235 on his MP's second home allowance to pay for optional extra insurance in 2008/09 and 2009/10, House of Commons Standards Commissioner John Lyon found.

The former communities minister, who lost his Dewsbury seat in the May General Election, voluntarily repaid the money in full after a complaint was lodged in December last year.

The Commons Standards and Privileges Committee today welcomed his decision to repay the money and acknowledged that the case did not involve a ‘serious breach’.

But the committee said that ‘in our view it might expected that such an item of jewellery would be covered by the policy in respect of the Member's main home’.

The committee recommended that the former Labour MP write a letter of apology to the House.

A spokesman for Mr Malik said: "Despite the fact that Mr Malik's expenditure was approved twice by the parliamentary authorities and subsequently audited as eligible by Sir Thomas Legg's audit, Mr Malik took the decision to repay the £235 in order to avoid doubt and be above reproach in January.

"Mr Malik accepts the Committee's judgment that it wasn't a serious inquiry and should have been dealt with via the rectification procedure without the need to come to the full Committee.

"He is pleased that the Committee comes to the conclusion that this 'was not a serious breach' and likewise that in his memorandum to the Committee the Commissioner both gives him credit for swiftly repaying monies and describes the matter as 'unfortunate but not serious', stating that Mr Malik had `taken the necessary and appropriate action to rectify the matter by reimbursing the Department'.

"He thanks the parliamentary authorities for honestly stating retrospectively that they believe the full cost would not have been eligible, and that they ought to have shown more 'diligence' in processing Mr Malik's claim.

"He is nonetheless disappointed that the parliamentary authorities on two occasions failed to highlight any problems with the expenditure, as the Commissioner's resource could have been deployed to more pressing inquiries.

"He is also disappointed that Sir Thomas Legg's audit team failed to raise the matter, had they done so Mr Malik would have repaid it in the same way as over 400 other MPs.

"The Committee concluded that because an element of the premium was ineligible it rendered the whole to be ineligible. The Committee and Commissioner agreed that it was an 'unintended error' and out of respect for the Committee and Parliament Mr Malik has happily and readily apologised."