IT is absolutely proper that Police and Crime Commissioner Anthony Stansfeld pays back the money he claimed for mileage after swapping his main office from Kidlington police HQ to one closer to his home in West Berkshire.

This is not on the scale of the MPs’ shameful expenses scandal and is more than likely to be the product of Mr Stansfeld feeling his way into a new role and the rules that go with it.

However, it is a clear example to him that the public perception of claims is just as important as their legitimacy when it comes to spending public money.