MP Andrew Smith has rejected suggestions he used his Parliamentary second-home allowance to renovate his main house in Oxford.

The Oxford East MP has nominated an address in Kennington, south London, as his second home for his Parliamentary expense claims.

But the Sunday Telegraph revealed this week that his main address in Flaxfield Road, Blackbird Leys, appeared on invoices and delivery receipts for plumbing work and items including a toilet and washbasin for the London home.

He also bought many claimed-for items at Oxford shops.

Under Commons rules, Mr Smith could only use the additional costs allowance (ACA) on his second home in Kennington.

Mr Smith told the The Oxford Times that none of these items had been delivered to, or installed in, his Oxford address, and said: “The Oxford plumber who did the work collected the items from Johnsons Buildbase in Cowley and took them to London where they did the installation.

“At no point during the period April 2004 to date have I claimed on the second-homes allowance for any work or items for my main home in Blackbird Leys.”

He said he had chosen an Oxford plumber and local suppliers because he knew he could trust them.

He added: “The plumber’s invoice would have been sent to my Oxford address because that’s the address the local firm I use have on their system, and it is where I do day-to-day things like pay bills and am listed for credit cards. I bought items in Oxford because it’s where I know the shops and suppliers.

“The Sunday Telegraph asked me about this in an email exchange, and I told them the detail of what happened but they have chosen not to report all of that.

“It’s plain common sense if you’re having works done to chose a plumber you know will do a proper job. I’m not going to apologise for using a reputable Oxford plumber, nor for buying materials from suppliers in Oxford.”

Roy Barrett, the Marston plumber implicated in the story, said: “That’s the case, it was all installed in London. We did pick it up from a local firm because that’s the kind of man he is, he’s a local man. I’ve worked for him for 30 years and everything that we did on the expenses was done in London.”

It also emerged this week that Dr Evan Harris made £200,000 when he sold his taxpayer-funded home in London.

But last night he pledged to pay back any money made in line with the rest of his party.

The Oxford West and Abingdon MP bought the one-bedroom flat in Westminster for £150,000 when he was first elected in 1997 and claimed £79,618 in second home expenses on the property in four years. Last year he sold it to his parents for £350,000.

The Liberal Democrat MP is due to pay capital gains tax on the sale –– about £36,000 — but, in line with party leader Nick Clegg’s proposals, he has also pledged to pay back the rest of the capital gain on any property when he leaves office. Mr Harris, who this week also revealed his expenses to The Oxford Times, said: “All capital gain financed by the taxpayer will be paid back –– it’s something I will do. That’s never been an issue for me. I have never been in the property market.” Dr Harris said he had never claimed for furniture and stopped claiming for food, general household goods and cleaners 18 months ago.

He said: “I’m not surprised people are furious about what some MPs have been up to, but I have only claimed for a modest flat near the Commons. There’s been no lavish redecoration.”

Banbury MP Tony Baldry, who also released his expenses to The Oxford Times this week, claimed £56,759 on his second home in London over four years –– including £36,355 on paying the interest on his mortgage.

But the Tory MP, who was first elected in 1983, said he had never claimed for food or furniture and always claimed within the “spirit of the rules”.

He said: “I don’t think any of us has got this 100 per cent right. I once inadvertently made duplicate claims for my mortgage which was picked up.

“But I don’t think in the 26 years I have been an MP I have ever claimed for food, taxis or individual items of furniture. That’s just the way I understood the rules.

“I hope I have complied with the letter and spirit of the rules. I don’t assume to make judgments on colleagues. Everyone’s personal circumstances are different.”

Meanwhile, Tory leader David Cameron renewed his calls for a General Election as he faced constituents in Witney over the expenses scandal. The Witney MP said going to the polls was the only way for the public to be able to judge MPs who had exploited the system.

More than 200 residents and local councillors questioned Mr Cameron at the Corn Exchange last Friday, and the Tory leader pledged to hold further meetings in the town if constituents wished.

Answering more than a dozen questions from the public and press, Mr Cameron defended the need for MPs to have second homes, but he said people had the right to feel outraged over excessive and corrupt claims.

However, the occasion was criticised in the Daily Mail by columnist Peter Hitchens for being stage-managed.

Mr Hitchens, who lives in Oxford, said he had not been told about the meeting and had only found out about it by reading his local newspaper.

He wrote: “Well, I was there and I can tell you how Mr Cameron managed to get such a smooth ride. First of all, the meeting was at noon on a Friday, a time when most people with jobs haven’t time to go to meetings. Second, the local Tories did what they could to hold a supposedly public occasion in private. I knew of it only because of a brief mention in my local paper, the Oxford Mail.

“When I turned up on the doorstep, it was guarded by various apparatchiks sitting at desks with lists, and making it look as if it was in some way a members-only function. The aides gulped visibly when they saw me, but had more sense than to try to keep me out.

“Once the meeting started, it was clear that the local loyalists had been summoned to fill most of the 200 seats. The average age was well over 50. Mr Cameron recognised almost every questioner by name, and most of them addressed him familiarly as ‘David’.”

Mr Hitchens concluded: “If Mr Cameron really wants to find out what the people of West Oxfordshire think about him, his mortgage and his chimney, I suggest he hires a bigger hall, advertises the event both to local people and the national media, and holds it when normal men and women won't be at work.”