Lady Warsi urged to quit after claiming £165 a night while allegedly staying with friend for free

The conservative party's co-chairman is to be investigated over allegations that she claimed £2000 in expenses to stay for free at a friend’s house in 2008.

The latest revelation follows on from Saturday's revelation that she failed to declare to the House of Lords authorities that she was receiving a separate income from renting out a house in Wembley - Warsi has admitted to this, calling it "an oversight, for which I take full responsibility".

Her friend Naweed Khan, who is now officialy Lady Warsi's Special Adviser was paid an “appropriate financial payment equivalent to what I was paying at the time in hotel costs” - which amounted to £165.50 a night.

She has been urged to stand down from her position whilst the investigations take place.

Lady Warsi made an official statement yesterday, saying “There was a period of around six weeks when I spent occasional nights at a flat in Acton, which was occupied by Naweed Khan, at the time a member of Conservative Campaign HQ staff."

“For the nights that I stayed as a guest of Naweed Khan I made an appropriate financial payment equivalent to what I was paying at the time in hotel costs.”

The case has been compared to that of Lord Hanningfield who was sentenced to 9 months in prison in 2009 for claiming false expenses for overnight stays.

David Cameron's Conservative party is also under pressure to sack Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt over his connections to the BSkyB organisation which some have deemed inappropriate.


Main image: Getty