Geoff Hoon's expense claims and journalists' ignorance of East Midlands geography

Jonathan Brown has a piece in the Independent today looking at MPs' expense claims. He visits Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Geoff Hoon's constituency and reports the experience of one constituent who had found it impossible to speak to him:

She said she had sought Mr Hoon's help once over a problem but was not impressed. "It was like talking to a brick wall. In fact, I never actually got to speak to him, it was his secretary. They tell you 'Phone CAB, phone the local authority'. It was a waste of time."

Brown goes on to say:

Mr Hoon has had none of these difficulties in making the system work for him, it seems. He presently commands a ministerial salary of £141,866 and has built an impressive property empire reportedy (sic.) worth £1.7m since joining the Government. His portfolio includes a Georgian townhouse in central London in addition to his sprawling £600,000 Derbyshire constituency home.

There is just one problem here. Kirkby-in-Ashfield and the whole Ashfield constituency are in Nottinghamshire, so how can Hoon have a "Derbyshire constituency home"?

According to an earlier Daily Mail report, Hoon lives in Derby. And Derby is 20 miles from Kirkby-in-Ashfield.

Hoon also owns a holiday home in the extraordinarily select Suffolk resort of Walberswick. Hence the wise words of Jason Zadrozny, who will be fighting Ashfield next time:

"When he is claiming for three properties, you hope at least one is in the constituency."