Cameron says MP 'right to quit'

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Cameron: "It was his decision and I think it is the right decision"

David Cameron has said a Conservative MP who is to stand down from Parliament after facing questions about his expenses has made the "right decision".

David Wilshire, MP for Spelthorne, said he would not seek re-election after reports he channelled £100,000 of public money into a company he owned.

Mr Wilshire said he believed he would be cleared but did not want to harm his party's chances at the next election.

He joins a long list of MPs who are standing down over their expenses.

'Sensible course'

Mr Cameron said the MP had done the "right thing" by deciding not to contest the general election, which is widely expected in May.

"It was his decision and I think it is the right decision," he said.

Mr Wilshire took what he said was the "sensible" course to stand down after talks with senior Tory figures including chief whip Patrick McLoughlin.

After the allegations emerged on Thursday, Mr Wilshire referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

He said he was confident he would be cleared of wrongdoing but had decided to quit for the party's sake.

Mr Cameron said it was "appropriate" that the parliamentary watchdog would now look at the MP's expenses arrangements.

"If money has to be paid back, it has to be paid back," he added.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Mr Wilshire had paid up to £3,250 a month in parliamentary office allowances to Moorlands Research Services between 2005 and 2008.

Extra invoices were also submitted and the total paid to the company - owned by him and his partner Ann Palmer - was £105,500.

Mr Wilshire said the firm had closed down last year, but before that it had been included in his entry for the Register of Members' Interests.

He denied any wrongdoing, insisting the arrangement was formally approved by the Commons Fees Office.

The claims were made through office allowances and so have not been examined as part of former civil servant Sir Thomas Legg's review of MPs' second home expenses.

Mr Wilshire has been an MP since 1987 and was returned with a majority of 11,684 at the last general election in 2005.

He is one of more than 100 current MPs who have said they will not seek re-election, many whose conduct over expenses has been questioned.