All MPs have been pretty much ordered by the party leaders to comply with the repayments requested by Sir Thomas Legg – or else. But they’re moaning about it.

However, has Legg screwed up? Has he made errors? If he has, rather than helping fix our democracy and draw a line under this whole issue he has done us a disservice. Errors so far claimed to have been made by Legg include:

• A number of requests for repayments due to double reimbursements which did not happen
• Mortgage documents requested from MPs who rent, rather than own, their second home
• And one request for information from an MP before they were even elected!

These sort of errors should not have arisen in a well-performed audit. Certainly, fundamental errors such as requesting mortgage documents from an MP who rents or from a period prior to them becoming an MP never should have occured.

If Legg has made these errors, can his conclusions be trusted? Can we accept that the issue has been dealt with if such fundamental mistakes have been made, suggesting a lack of attention to detail or care when drafting the letters?

If these errors are confirmed, unfortunately the entire edifice of Legg’s audit must be called into doubt. If Legg has screwed up, he has not just failed to do his job but has damaged our democracy even more.