Crackdown on free postage as Labour MP claims £50,000 on stationery

Commons sources have told The Mail on Sunday that:

• MPs were caught stuffing handfuls of pre-paid envelopes and stationery into their pockets, with large quantities disappearing two days before the curbs took effect.

• Many even used pre-paid envelopes – worth up to £1 each – to jot down notes and shopping lists, before throwing them in the bin.

• Labour MP Siobhan McDonagh, an aide to Home Secretary John Reid, spent nearly £50,000 on free postage and stationery last year alone.

• Immigration Minister Liam Byrne, tipped for Cabinet promotion if Gordon Brown becomes Prime Minister, is in second place with £40,000.

• Lib Dem Overseas Aid spokeswoman Lynne Featherstone has been forced to return huge quantities of Commons' stationery after running up a £22,000 bill in just one month.

A Parliamentary insider said: The abuse of this allowance is quite shocking.

'When they realised that these allowances were to be controlled, MPs literally went round filling their boots while they could.

I can think of no other reason why claims doubled in the last month.

'A hard core of MPs were found to be going round stuffing their pockets with free postage and stationery.

They were seen filling their pockets on the quiet and then returning a few hours later when supplies had been restocked.

This system has always relied on trust but it is clear that some MPs can no longer be trusted.'

Another source added: They ran round grabbing as much free material before the axe came down. It was obscene.'

The latest MPs' expenses racket was revealed in an email sent by Parliamentary official Cliff Harris to Assistant Serjeant at Arms Ruby Beech on April 12.

It reports a sudden leap in postage and stationery costs after a crackdown was approved on March 28, restricting the allowance to £7,000.

At the same time, MPs also approved a £10,000-a-year communication grant' to pay for newsletters and websites.

The curbs had been intended to reduce costs and stop MPs using free postage to send party political information and propaganda to voters – a breach of Commons' rules.

But the ban led to extraordinary scenes as MPs attempted to hoard as much as they could.

In the email, Mr Harris said many MPs had run up bills of more than £3,500 for the month – equal to half their annual entitlement.

He added: Stationery expenditure for the month was up nearly 100 per cent at over £126K, with postage at £370K against a normal monthly total of around £200K.

It's quite alarming when you see that Lynne Featherstone spent over £22,000 in one month – the equivalent to three years of the new capped rate.'

The Speaker has responded by ending one of Parliament's most treasured customs – small piles of pre-paid envelopes and stationery, which were freely available in the library and voting lobbies.

Every item of stationery must now be signed for at the Commons Post Office.

Mr Martin has also ordered an investigation to track down the biggest claimants.

Mitcham and Morden MP Ms McDonagh, who has spent nearly £50,000, said she had nothing to apologise for.

I try to represent my constituents in the best way that I can,' she added. I help an awful lot of people and that involves not just one or two letters – it is an ongoing process.'

Asked why she spent more than other politicians, she replied: I can't answer for what other MPs do.'

Ms Featherstone, MP for the London suburb of Hornsey, claimed an official in her office had mistakenly ordered too much and that she had returned all the items when she realised.

I didn't know he had gone so far, I knew nothing,' she said.

Mr Byrne said: You can't advance your constituents' interests without writing a lot of letters.'

The scandal follows last year's row, when it was revealed one Labour MP had spent £37,000 on free postage and stationery.