One MP’s Travel Expenses Total All Holiday Payments To Asylum Seekers

The travel expenses of one MP, who has often criticised the cost of asylum seekers, are pretty much equal to the total amount the government paid all asylum seekers last Christmas.

As reported, Independence Party MP Ásmundur Friðriksson has recently been the subject of criticism due to having spent the most money of any current MP on travel expenses within Iceland. These costs are reimbursed by Parliament, in his case to the tune of 4.6 million ISK, tax free.

This is not only twice what the Icelandic Automobile Association (FÍB) believes Ásmundur’s travels should have cost. It is also the same amount of money the government paid all asylum seekers as a one-time holiday payment last December.

The irony of this comparison is that Ásmundur has been a very vocal critic of asylum seekers in Iceland. In particular, he has made dubious claims about the cost of asylum seekers with contentions that are not based in fact and are easily debunked.

His remarks about asylum seekers have made him a magnet for criticism, even from within his own party, to the point where some Independence Party members were encouraging voters to cross his name off the ballot for last October’s elections.