ALTRINCHAM and Sale West MP Graham Brady has made a robust defence of his expenses claims.

He spoke out after the expenses of all MPs were published on the House of Commons website.

They revealed that Mr Brady submitted receipts that included £800 for a TV, shelves and DVD recorder in February 2008, £1,364 for a wardrobe in March 2006, and £1,600 for table and chairs in the same month, £300 for two stools in October 2007, and £270 for Roman blinds in September 2005.

The claims all related to Mr Brady’s Westminster flat between 2004 and 2008. He claimed the maximum available for running a second home in 2007-08, £23,083.

Other claims included a £149 digital radio in September 2005 and £230 on table and chairs in May 2005.

Smaller items included a £10 milk frother, an £11.99 handy blowlamp, and £2.69 for duck tape.

Mr Brady said: “I believe that the details published today show that I have always acted within the letter and the spirit of the Parliamentary allowances.

“Most of my claims relate to mortgage interest, council tax and utilities, although there are some claims towards the cost of maintenance and furnishings.

“My total costs are in the bottom half of MPs and I am one of the few MPs who has never claimed a penny of the £10,400 per year ‘communications allowance’ provided to help MPs to promote themselves to their voters.”

He pointed out that the month he submitted his claim for a TV, he reduced his mortgage claim by a corresponding amount, so there was no additional cost for taxpayers.

And the expenses system did not cover the full £2,964 cost of the wardrobe, table and chairs in March 2006, but paid £1,740 towards it.

Mr Brady - who previously disclosed his 2008-09 expenses to Messenger in May - added: “Most people accept that there is a necessary cost in living and working in two places and there has to be some means of assisting Members of Parliament so that people from any background can afford to serve in Westminster.

“I have spoken to Sir Christopher Kelly who is leading the independent review of allowances and I know that he is serious about finding a way forward that gets rid of the system that has made people so angry, while still allowing MPs to do our work.”