Bob Ainsworth's repairs cost the taxpayer £5,925

Bob Ainsworth, the Armed Forces Minister

Bob Ainsworth, the MP for Coventry North East, also tried to claim £2,225 for a sofa and £1,000 for a LCD Samsung television, both of which were reduced by the fees office.

According to the Green Book of parliamentary rules, MPs are not allowed to claim “the capital cost of repairs which go beyond making good dilapidations and enhance the property”.

In files seen by The Daily Telegraph, Mr Ainsworth submitted two invoices for £8,025 in July 2005, which detailed work to be carried out on the property.

The invoices included removing a wall between the sitting room and study and adding “support with oak beam”, supplying and fitting oak beams to the ceilings, “hacking” off Artex, the swirling ceiling plaster popular in the 1970s, and removing pipes at the side of the fire.

The work also “exposed brickwork to the fireplace and constructed archway for fire”, while carrying out brickwork “for support of railway sleeper”.

Describing the internal work, the invoice added: “Decorate on completion in style and colours of your choice.” The invoices also included electrical work, preparing floors for laminate, fitting a drain gully, supplying and fitting pine doors, as well as installing a 6ft by 3ft gate “with good quality locks” and constructing a 6ft by 12ft fence.

On Tuesday, the MP said he had only claimed for necessary repair work and had reduced the bill to £5,925 to avoid claiming for capital improvements.

In April 2006, Mr Ainsworth submitted a further £951 bill for fencing and in August charged £1,160 for a gas fire.

That same year, he was told by officials he could not claim £1,000 for a Samsung LCD television because he had exceeded the “recommended maximum”.

In August, the minister wrote to the fees office to explain why he was claiming £2,225 for a Roma corner sofa.

He said: “If you feel this is excessive can I say that due to size and layout of the room a normal three-piece suite will not fit. This 'corner group’ fits perfectly and maximises the space.”

But in October, the fees office told him again the claim was greater than the “recommended maximum”.

In February 2007, Mr Ainsworth claimed £2,000 to re-point part of the property and two months later submitted a third claim for fencing worth £4,500.

Between May 2005 and April 2007, he claimed a total of £19,920 in renovations, repairs, furniture and electrical equipment. He also submitted regular claims for the maximum monthly food allowance of £400 and monthly bills of £45 for dry cleaning.

At the end of 2007, Mr Ainsworth switched his designated second home to a flat in London, which he rented from Lady Grylls, the mother of adventurer Bear Grylls, and claimed a monthly rent of £1,208.

In 2007-8, the minister was the joint highest claimant for second home allowances, claiming the maximum amount of £23,083.

On Tuesday, Mr Ainsworth said he had acted entirely within the spirit and letter of the rules.

Referring to the £5,925 bill, he said: “I claimed some of this amount for repair and redecoration work.

“The repair work included: refitting a damp floor; the removal of a dangerous chimney and corroding pipe work; rewiring unsafe electrical cables; and the redecoration of two rooms, the study and lounge. As permitted by the rules.

“I paid for the work which covered the improvements made to my home. I paid this money because under the rules I did not believe that I was entitled to claim for improvements.”

Mr Ainsworth said he accepted the cap on his claims for the television and sofa, had replaced the gas fire because it was dangerous and claimed for dry cleaning and food as was permitted under the rules.

“Along with most of my colleagues, I recognise that the allowance system for MPs is now completely discredited and needs to be swiftly replaced,” he added.

“I can state in all honesty that I acted within the spirit and letter of the rules. However the problem is, of course, that the rules were not good rules.

“We now must act to change this.”

Bob Ainsworth

Job: Minister of State for the Armed Forces and Labour MP for Coventry North East

Salary: £104,050

Total second home claims

2004-05: £19,275

2005-06: £18,911

2006-07: £18,878

2007-08: £23,083