Smash hit

Pressure on Mr Cameron to take decisive action grew during the day. By late morning a Tory spokesman said that Caroline Spelman, the Conservative Party chairman, was demanding to see all the MEP’s accounts within 48 hours. “We want to see every penny in and every penny out,” said a Tory source. The onus would be on Mr Chichester to prove that he had done nothing wrong, the source added. The Tory leader had wanted initially to set a 24-hour deadline but had agreed reluctantly to extend it at Mr Chichester’s request.

Faced with the prospect of further revelations by The Times today, the party’s headquarters in London again pressed for early sight of the relevant documents in early afternoon. Soon after 2pm there was unofficial confirmation that Mr Chichester would go.

In a statement issued at 5pm the Tory leader said: “Giles Chichester is right to stand down as leader of our MEPs to prepare a full explanation of how his office is funded. Just as I expect our MPs to adhere to the highest standards so must our MEPs.

“The tax-paying public have a right to know how their money is spent and politicians have a duty to ensure that it is spent properly.”

Mr Chichester’s resignation is likely to intensify controversy over how he — and other Tory MEPs — were recently reselected. Fearing defections, Mr Cameron authorised a tightly controlled ballot that placed incumbents at the head of the list of candidates automatically. The measure was approved to thwart a threatened grassroots purge of pro-European MEPs.

Ms Spelman agreed recently to a meeting with activist representatives who are angry that she is withholding information on the conduct of the election.

There were questions last night over whether Mr Chichester, 61, should be allowed to continue as Tory MEP and stand in next year’s European elections.

Neil O’Brien, director of the Open Europe think-tank, said he should stand down. He said: “The Conservatives have made the right call. After such a clear breach of the rules, Chichester’s position as leader in the European Parliament was clearly untenable. If this is serious enough to resign the leadership over, it is serious enough to warrant resigning as an MEP.”

He added: “The Conservatives would not be able to fight the next election as the anti-sleaze party if they are carrying someone who has been forced to resign over sleaze.”

Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, added: “The explanation for this case is insufficient and the public deserves better. Any MEP caught misusing funds should step down.”

Companies House documents show that Mr Chichester appears to have taken £5,000 a year in rent for his own home in Mayfair, West London, from the company to which he pays his European Parliament expenses. Giles Chichester, his wife and two of his children are registered there on the electoral roll.

Francis Chichester Ltd gave a total of £40,000 rent between 1996 and 2003 directly to Mr Chichester, company accounts state. The stated explanation is that the money was “in respect of office accommodation”. Francis Chichester Ltd’s accounts were last audited in 1998. Since then, the company has exercised its right as a small enterprise to submit unaudited accounts.

One of the directors of Francis Chichester Ltd, at the time these arrangements were in place, was the late George McWatters, a Conservative activist and heir to the Harvey’s Bristol Cream fortune. Since 2002 Giles Chichester and his wife have been the map company’s only directors.

Mr Dover has admitted recently that he pays his expenses to a family company run by his wife Kathleen, 68, and his daughter, Amanda, 40. His daughter gets more than £20,000 a year for acting as a part-time helper.

The handwritten declaration was made on April 3, 2008. Mr Cameron imposed an April deadline on his MEPs to disclose the names and salaries of their staff to restore public confidence. Mr Dover’s declaration about his contract with M P Holdings states: “My wife manages all my secretarial services. My daughter is a part-time assistant and is a fully qualified secretary. Both these are required to work very unsociable hours in Brussels, Strasbourg and throughout the north-west of England (including all weekends).” M P Holdings has a “turnover” of £125,000 a year and administrative expenses of £126,000.

Brussels gravy train

€1.3bn annual budget of European Parliament

€47,352 annual MEP office allowance

€185,952 annual staff allowance

€134,291 paid to each Italian MEP, the top earners

€9,276 paid to each Bulgarian MEP, the lowest earners

€87,358 paid to each British MEP (£1 is €1.26)

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