As Labour MPs told to make public their expenses by Monday, one North-East member says: ‘I’m too busy’.

THE region’s MPs were last night scrambling to meet a new deadline of Monday to release all their expenses receipts as the deepening scandal claimed its first scalps at Westminster.

All Labour MPs have been told to open up their books “as a first step to meeting our constituents’ anger”, but some insisted it would be impossible to do so – and one North-East MP said he was “too busy”.

Frank Cook, the Stockton North MP, defied the instruction to publish by Monday, saying: “I don’t see any reason to follow this rush. it doesn’t make any sense and I’m too busy. The House authorities will publish them and I will wait for them to do so.”

He was joined by Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman, who said she had no plans to publish details on her website.

After another day of damaging revelations, when a former Labour minister was suspended and a key aide to Tory leader David Cameron stood down, many MPs were desperate to put an end to the expenses saga.

Some, led by Hilary Armstrong (Durham North-West) and Sharon Hodgson (Gateshead East and Washington West), vowed to put every receipt on their websites within days.

Ms Armstrong acted after repaying £5,000 to the Commons fees office, money she had claimed for food over the past three years, in line with the rules now widely condemned as too lax.

But other MPs warned it would take longer than a few days to finish editing their receipts, to remove personal details such as addresses, bank account details and national insurance numbers.

In a situation of mounting chaos, some disputed whether the receipts could be safely published online with key details blanked out. Others were not answering telephone calls.

Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon has urged Scotland Yard to investigate whether “criminal acts” had been committed.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Committee, suggested there was a case for the police to be called in.

He said: “I think, looking at some of these cases, it looks to me as though Plod needs to come in.”

A breakdown of every expense claim made going back four years – 700,000 receipts – was due to be published by the Commons authorities before the middle of July.

But, after a week of damning revelations of lavish spending and tax-dodging following a leak to a national newspaper, Labour MPs were ordered to cut short the agony.

Tony Lloyd, the chairman of the Parliamentary party, wrote to all Labour MPs, urging them to release their receipts by Monday afternoon, or “sooner if practical”.

Backed by the rest of the committee, he wrote: “It is important that we publish these expenses ourselves, as a first step to meeting our constituents’ anger on these issues.”

It emerged yesterday that all MPs have been sent advice by a Labour backbencher, Frank Field, on how to scan the receipts onto websites safely – allowing constituents to view them.

Last night, Foreign Secretary David Miliband apologised for his expenses claim – but he will not be paying back the money he claimed for his constituency home.

It was revealed last week he spent just under £30,000 over five years on repairs, decorations and furnishings for the £120,000 semi-detached property in South Shields.