John Smith, a Labour backbencher, took advantage of generous allowances to claim an average of £14,488 a year – more than the average salary of a minimum wage worker– without providing evidence of any spending.
When he eventually made a claim backed up by a receipt, it was for home furnishings including a vase, a frying pan, a bath robe, beaded drapes and poster art.
Until April last year, MPs were not required to submit receipts for claims up to £400 a month for groceries, £250 for utility bills, £250 for telephone bills, £250 for cleaning, £250 for service and maintenance and £250 for repairs and insurance.
The MP for Vale of Glamorgan, in south Wales, claimed close to the maximum Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) in the four years between 2004/5 and 2007/8 to cover the expense of renting a small flat in London.
In addition to monthly rent of up to £560, he claimed the full £400 for groceries and several hundred pounds across the other categories every month.
In total the 58-year-old claimed £86,675 in ACA over the four years, of which £57,955 was for costs at his London address below the threshold for which evidence was required.
The amount is equivalent to £14,488 a year – well above the £11,024 that a typical full-time minimum wage worker could expect to earn.
Mr Smith claimed a total of £148,514 in overall expenses - including housing, office and staff costs - in 2007/8 but turned up for only 48 per cent of votes, spoke in 10 debates and asked just 10 questions in the same period.
He announced last week he was standing down at the next election, making him eligible for a resettlement grant of between £32,000 and £65,000 on leaving office, of which the first £30,000 is tax free.
A House of Commons official wrote to Mr Smith in July 2007, saying: "I notice you claim regular nominal amounts.
"Although we do not require sight of receipts or invoices for amounts which are £250 or less we would need to know on what these amounts are based. Ideally we would expect members to claim for actual amounts and not nominal sums."
Despite the letter, the MP continued to claim nominal amounts for the rest of financial year.
Following a rule change in April 2008 that required receipts for expenditure over £25, he submitted London home claims for £231 from Ikea and £140 from homeware store The Range, both from branches in Cardiff.
The Ikea receipt reveals he claimed £11.98 on a Njuta bath robe, £7.99 for a Skanka pan, £90 for Lycksele Murbo mattress, two £7.99 Hultet beaded drapes and £4.99 on a rimless picture frame with clips.
His claim from The Range included £69.99 on a set of table and chairs, £3.49 on an "onion garland" and £15.49 on a print by artist Cory Silken called Rugosa.
Mr Smith also twice attempted to claim the cost of Christmas cards on his office expenses. He first tried to bill the £295 cost of seasonal cards in November 2004 but was rejected by House of Commons officials.
He tried again for £305 the following year and was again rejected.
However, he successfully claimed £352.50 in legal bills for a dispute over his constituency office rent, submitting an invoice from a firm of solicitors in Caerphilly.
John Smith
Job: Labour MP for Vale of Glamorgan
Salary: £64,766
Total second home claims
2004-05: £20,620
2005-06: £20,862
2006-07: £22,110
2007-08: £23,083
Total expenses
2007-08: £148,514
Rate of attendance at votes: 48 per cent
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