LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s ailing Labour government  suffered another blow to its authority yesterday when a  newspaper published details of expense claims made by Prime  Minister Gordon Brown and other ministers.

Brown, trailing the opposition Conservative Party in opinion  polls ahead of an election due by mid-2010, reclaimed 6,577  pounds ($9,866) he paid his brother for cleaning services at his  London flat, the right-leaning Daily Telegraph reported.

A spokesman for Brown’s office told the newspaper he was  reimbursing his brother for his share of the cost for a cleaner  they jointly employed, and was within parliamentary rules.

But the report, four weeks before local and European  elections, added to public perceptions that lawmakers are   taking full advantage of generous perks while ordinary people  struggle to cope with a harsh economic recession.