As more tales of phantom mortgages emerge from the MPs’ expenses dossier, there are still a number of politicians who are not ripping off the taxpayer

Another MP whose claims are low is the Labour MP Angela Eagle, who divides her time between her constituency of Wallasey in Wirral, Merseyside, and Westminster, 225 miles away. Between 2004 and 2008, she claimed £155 a month for the mortgage interest on her constituency home and at one point was under-claiming her council tax by £7 a month.

Miss Eagle claimed £7,045 ACA in 2007-8, while her twin, Maria, who is also an MP, claimed thousands of pounds refurbishing a bathroom at one of her flats just before switching her designated second home.