AN MP has claimed he “couldn’t do the job” without a second home, after details of his expenses claims emerged.

John Whittingdale, Tory MP for Maldon, claimed £1,828.30 for bathroom fittings, £1,800 for a replacement boiler, £774.50 for a sofa and rug from Laura Ashley, and £1,014 for a bed for his flat in Westminster despite it being less than 60 miles away from his constituency.

Mr Whittingdale had previously not revealed the claims to the Gazette when we asked the region’s MPs to own up on their expenses.

At the timeMr Whittingdale said then money should be paid back “if claims are extravagant or excessive, but I don’t believe any of mine fall into that”.

Yesterday he said the claims were justified and “fully in line” with the rules.

He said: “I do not believe any of them are inappropriate.

“I would be happy to repay if one of the panels tell me the payment is inappropriate in the present claims, but as far as I am aware they are all legitimate.”

Mr Whittingdale also defended his need for a second home. He said: “I have always said I do maintain a second home which I use every day and need during the week. I could not do the job without the second home.

“I am never home before 10.30pm or 11pm and I would be getting home at 1am and setting out at 7am otherwise, which would make it impossible.”

His comments came as Sir Christopher Kelly, the man heading up the Commons inquiry into the expenses fiasco, said the system had been “exploited for personal gain”.

Mr Whittingdale is among the lowest spending MPs in the country, but did claim the full second home allowance of £23,083 for 2007/08.

He said the claims he made were up to March 2008 and he expected his expenses from April 2008 to 2009 to be down as much as 60 per cent due to reduced mortgage costs.

He added: “I will be claiming much less than the maximum allowance as the cost of the mortgage [on the second home] has dramatically reduced and my claims are pretty much down the bottom.”