His claim was three times an MP's accommodation allowance.

It was also revealed other ministers with homes in the capital city were also claiming accommodation allowances.

From all I have seen , very few of the items included in the accommodation allowances would rank as expenses for the purposes of a tax deduction.

As absentees Sinn Féin MPs are denied their salaries, worth around £1.5 million over the five years to 2009, but can claim staff costs and additional accommodation allowances.

Modelled on the Westminster system, Holyrood's accommodation allowance permits MSPs to claim rent or mortgage interest payments on a property in Edinburgh, or to stay in a hotel.

Ministers who occupy an official residence, including the Prime Minister, will not be able to get the accommodation allowance that MPs can claim from Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).

Calls to scrap the accommodation allowance for MSPs were stepped up last night after it emerged that members of the Scottish Parliament were buying and selling taxpayer-funded properties to each other and keeping the profits.

For instance, north London staff requiring temporary accommodation while arranging for permanent housing were given a temporary accommodation allowance for up to 13 weeks whereas those moving from Kent were able to receive this allowance for up to 26 weeks.

In his defence he claimed the property belonged to his wife and was "too small to provide accommodation for my young family, and even if that was not the case, as a new member of parliament I wouldn't be able to claim any accommodation allowance against the mortgage on the property."