COLCHESTER MP Bob Russell has hit out at a government quango which published details of an expenses claim it initially rejected.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority yesterday published details of claims by 125 MPs for costs incurred which it had refused to pay.

They included one rejected claim last September by Lib Dem Mr Russell for £346.60 for advertising his advice bureau in the Colchester Community Care Guide.

But Mr Russell said the claim had been approved in November after he had forwarded Ipsa a copy of the advertisement.

He said Ipsa had now changed the rules, so that MPs could claim for adverts before they were published, as long as they provided proof once they had been printed.