WANTAGE and Didcot MP Ed Vaizey has claimed for antique furniture, a camera, a satellite navigation device and train and taxi fares, a detailed examination of his Parliamentary expenses has revealed.

Last week, constituents were able to see the full list of the expenses Mr Vaizey had claimed since 2005, when they were published online.

Mr Vaizey was criticised after he spent more than £74,000 of taxpayers’ money to pay for a second home in Letcombe Bassett, near Wantage, since he became an MP four years ago.

Mr Vaizey’s expenses, which were published publicly on parliament.uk, showed he also claimed for a BlackBerry multimedia phone, office stationery, leaflet distribution and room hire for his surgeries in Wantage, Didcot and Wallingford.

He claimed £149.99 for a Tom Tom sat nav, purchased from Sainsbury’s, £164.99 for a flat screen computer monitor and a Samsung digital camera and equipment, costing £159.75, all from Currys.

Other expenses included food and drinks bills of £50.20 and one for £45.20 at the King Alfred’s Head Bar and Bistro in Wantage, and advertising space in the Oxford Mail, Herald Series and Courier newspapers.

He also claimed for hotel expenses, including a £70 stay at an Express Holiday Inn and £55.70 at a Britannia Hotel.

The claims of every MP for the past four years have been made available online, with some details removed on privacy and security grounds.

Mr Vaizey, the shadow arts minister, said: “I fully understand the concerns of my constituents about expenses.

“Now that I have established a second home, my claims will be the minimum possible.”

Between May 2005 and March 2009, Mr Vaizey claimed £74,623.62 on a rented two-bedroom cottage in Letcombe Bassett and later on a three-bedroom semi-detached house in Sparsholt, which he bought for £300,000 in July 2007.

While renting the £800-a-month cottage, he spent £5,600 on food and £1,580 on cleaners.

He also paid back £2,000 he spent furnishing the property because the furniture he bought was “of higher quality than necessary”.

He said those claims were “an error of judgement” and apologised.

When he bought his house in Sparsholt, Mr Vaizey claimed £10,776 to cover legal fees and stamp duty, plus £200 on curtains, £658 on a dishwasher and washing machine, and £600 on carpets.

The father-of-two, whose main home is in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, said: “My second home claims were the second lowest in Oxfordshire.

“For the first two years overall, I will have under-claimed by 20 per cent. This year my claims will be among the lowest in the county.”

hcover@oxfordmail.co.uk