AN Oxfordshire MP last night apologised for using taxpayers’ money to buy luxury and antique furniture for his Oxfordshire home – just days after insisting being “fairly comfortable” with his expense claims.

Ed Vaizey, right, Tory MP for Wantage, last week insisted his claims were “legitimate” and said he had repaid £2,000 spent on furnishing his second house in Letcombe Bassett only because of the outcry over MPs’ behaviour.

He told the Oxford Mail paying back the money was “the right thing to do”.

Yesterday, however, after details of his claims were exposed by the Daily Telegraph, which acquired a leaked copy of all MPs’expenses going back four years, the shadow culture spokesman admitted he had been wrong.

He insisted a claim for an antique chair – expressly forbidden by the Parliamentary rule book – “should not have been made”.

Mr Vaizey also accepted other furniture bought from online retailer Oka could be “deemed as being of higher quality than necessary”.

His purchases from the company, which is owned by Tory leader and Witney MP David Cameron’s mother-in-law, included a £467 two-seater sofa, a £544 chair, a £280 “low table” and another table worth £671.

It also emerged Mr Vaizey claimed £300 for an upholstered library chair from an antiques shop in London and £10,776 to cover legal fees and stamp duty when he bought a house in 2007.

The Green Book, which sets out the rules governing MPs’ expenses, states MPs are not allowed to use their Additional Costs Allowance to buy “furnishings or fittings which are antique, luxury or premium grade”.

Mr Vaizey said he “did not bother” to argue against the Telegraph’s charge that he may have broken the rules as he had “already decided, for different reasons, to pay back the money”.

But, pressed by the Oxford Mail yesterday, he said: “I am sorry. People have a right to feel let down. This was an error of judgement and I apologise. I am trying to make amends. I accept people will be angry.

“I haven’t claimed for furniture since.

“My claim last year was significantly lower than the year before and my claim this year will be less than half the permitted allowance. I did pay this money back before this was in the public domain.”

Mr Vaizey defended his claim for stamp duty and legal fees, saying he bought a place in Oxfordshire as it “demonstrated my commitment to my constituency” and said was justified under the rules.

A senior Tory spokesman yesterday said Mr Vaizey’s claims will be studied this week by a party scrutiny panel.

If the panel decides any of the claims were excessive, he could be forced to pay back more – or face being kicked out of the parliamentary party.

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