Key details of MPs' expenses censored

In what appeared to be an attempt to protect greedy and slippery MPs from exposure, swathes of their claims and detailed demands were censored or missing.

Officially the reason for the continuing secrecy was to protect the security of Members of Parliament.

But Heather Brooke, the freedom of information campaigner who spent five years fighting for the right to see MPs' expenses, said that argument was totally discredited by leaks of the full material.

"I have seen some original documents and avoiding embarrassment has been the key motivating factor in what has been deleted," she said.

The supposedly detailed records of all 646 MPs were posted on the House of Commons website at 6am but much potential incriminating evidence was concealed by thick black squares of ink.

Click here to see what your MP claimed - A-H

Click here to see what your MP claimed – J-Z

The Commons censors removed all mention of such outrages as the moat-cleaning claimed for by Tory grandee Douglas Hogg.

Extraordinarily, some of his pages of claims contained more blacked-out squares than writing.

Similarly, huge sections were blotted out of former minister Sir Peter Viggers's claims, including the notorious £1,645 duck house he put on his estate pond.

The bland version offered for public consumption was stripped of MPs' addresses, which would have revealed those like Hazel Blears who "flipped" homes, allegedly to milk their expenses.

Even the names of companies providing goods and gardening services were blanked out to prevent anyone identifying where the work was done. Often, details of the services provided were vague or just missing.

The bills that were revealed, however, included £1.197 million on free food in 2007-08 - an average of £154 a month for every MP - covering everything from pork pies and scotch eggs to Pot Noodles.

Gordon Brown today set up a helpline to counsel "distressed" Labour MPs worried about their expenses claims.

A leaked email to all Labour backbenchers offered legal advice and support if they contacted Mr Brown's aide, Anne Snelgrove.

It became clear that but for a giant, unplanned leak of the unedited receipts to the Daily Telegraph, few of the scandals that have rocked Parliament in recent weeks would have come to light.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: "Had it not been for the Daily Telegraph, a lot of this would never have come out. We would never have been able to identify the flipping of homes etc."

Labour MP David Winnick said: "I think all the information should be released, that is essential for transparency."

He added that it was "absolutely disgraceful" that the Commons had tried to get the courts to exempt MPs from freedom of information laws.

Some 1.2 million documents went online in today's huge exercise in disclosure, which was forced upon MPs when they lost a High Court secrecy battle. Among the new disclosures that survived the censor's pen, were:

¬ Liberal Democrat Lembit Opik claimed £19.99 for "the mother of all wigs" to wear at a charity fundraising event.

¬ MPs were allowed to claim for DVDs of their own speeches and to submit bills for services provided by their local political parties.

In a further revelation, it emerged that shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt submitted a 1p phone bill for a 12-second call. Labour's Bob Blizzard also claimed for a 39p paper clip.

The decisions on what could be kept secret were driven by MPs themselves. On their behalf the Speaker, Michael Martin, attempted to oppose publication at the High Court.

That battle was endorsed by the Commons Commission, which included Harriet Harman and her Opposition counterparts.

On expensive legal advice, the MPs won the right to keep secret details that could affect their personal security.

Commons officials then drew up rules on what could be kept secret, such as the location of second homes. The Commons then paid a firm of security consultants to go through the paperwork and delete anything sensitive.

Some of the most outrageous claims that were ultimately rejected were completely missing from the official record today, including attempts by several MPs to recoup the cost of buying Remembrance Day wreaths.

The latest head to roll was that of Treasury minister Kitty Ussher. She was forced to resign when it was revealed she avoided £17,000 capital gains tax on selling her constituency home.