A NORTH-EAST MP who is one of the Government’s top legal advisors has won her appeal against a demand for repayment of some of her Commons expenses.

Vera Baird, Solicitor General and MP for Redcar, in east Cleveland, appealed against the findings of the recent inquiry by Sir Thomas Legg, whose report on the expenses scandal is due to be published on Thursday.

About 70 MPs are understood to have appealed to Sir Paul Kennedy, the former judge appointed to investigate their protests.

Following her appeal, Mrs Baird received a letter from the Kennedy review.

She said: “I had been asked to repay £1,279.23 of mortgage interest for 2008 and 2009 by the Legg inquiry. The letter I have received from Sir Paul Kennedy says I have nothing to repay.

“I was told in that letter, ‘Over the five year period from 2004 to 2009 you underclaimed by £368.73. You only claimed for payments for which you were entitled to receive – that is what matters to me. It is not fair and equitable to require any repayment’.”

Mrs Baird added: “My name is now totally cleared and that is fair.”

Mrs Baird is one of four MPs from the North-East named in a Sunday newspaper yesterday as having lodged appeals. Among them is Frank Cook, MP for Stockton North, who was out of the country yesterday and so was unsure if his appeal had been successful.

Chris Mullin, MP for Sunderland South, also made an appeal but was unavailable for comment yesterday, as was Baroness Quin, who held her seat in Gateshead East and Washington West until 2005.

Mr Cook refused to pay back a claim for a £600 refrigerator, bought from the “John Lewis” list that MPs were allowed to use, but which has now been outlawed.

A second dispute over £980 for utility bills has been settled after Sir Thomas agreed they were legitimate claims for Mr Cook’s second home.

The man dealing with the appeals, Sir Paul Kennedy, faced criticism himself yesterday, following the revelation that he used £15,000 of public money to pay for taxis to and from work in his previous role as chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.