TAUNTON Deane MP Rebecca Pow claims she has done nothing wrong after becoming embroiled in the latest MPs' expenses scandal.

Ms Pow says she has paid back rent she was incorrectly reimbursed for one of her three children.

She has laid the blame for the mistake at the door of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).

The Telegraph has reported that Ms Pow had vowed to pay back £629 claimed in rent in 2017-18 for her three children, all in their 20s.

She told the County Gazette: "As advised by IPSA, I claimed the accommodation uplift for one relevant child, not three as the Telegraph claimed, when I arrived in Parliament in 2015.

"The uplift was paid into my accommodation budget, which should not have happened.

"IPSA has taken responsibility for this error and I am of course repaying any money that was accidentally given to me.

"I think this entire episode calls into question the competence of the new independent system – called IPSA – who had not alerted me to the fact that I owed any funds until I called them last week.

"Had I known I would have settled this immediately. Unfortunately, there is not an automatic ‘trigger’ within IPSA’s system to identify this.

"As far as I understand it the rules for children were changed to ease the situation for parents, especially women, with children to help them engage fully in political life.

"What this highlights is the urgent need for IPSA to improve their system so that they do not find themselves falling foul of the system unintentionally.

"Constituents need to be fully confident that their elected MPs are always acting within the rules and I think IPSA must improve the speed with which they respond to Members' queries."

Rebecca Pow, a government aide to Amber Rudd, also said she would repay incorrectly overclaimed money after reportedly claiming £629 in rent in 2017-18 for a dependent and continues to be registered for children.