Ilkley MP Kris Hopkins has defended a claim made on expenses to pay an electricity bill.

He claimed £371.33 to cover the charge at a flat he rents near Westminster.

Mr Hopkins is among over 340 MPs who together amassed a £200,000 yearly bill for heating their second homes, sparking anger from some members of the public.

But he said he had done nothing wrong.

“I rent a small flat where I stay on average three nights a week when parliament is sitting. I do so because it is much cheaper than paying for a hotel in London,” said Mr Hopkins.

“MPs were rightly curtailed after the scandalous behaviour of some of my predecessors in the last parliament, and I only claim for what is necessary for me to do my job.

“The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) decides what can be claimed for and electricity costs for MPs’ London accommodation falls into this category. This has been the case since IPSA was set up and all claims are available for public scrutiny.

“I cannot and would not claim for any expenses related to my home in Keighley and I pay my energy bills just the same as everyone else.”

Shipley MP Philip Davies, whose constituency includes Menston and Burley-in-Wharfedale, made no claim, but he defended his colleagues.

“If we weren’t paying the energy bills at our own homes then that would be a scandal, but of course we all do,” he said.

“People wanted an independent system for MPs’ expenses and that is what they have got, and yet MPs are now being criticised for abiding to the much stricter rules that IPSA introduced.”

South Craven MP Julian Smith also did not claim.