Revealed: London MPs claiming £9m expenses

It also shows huge variations in what MPs in the capital are claiming, ranging from £173,691 by former Labour minister Joan Ryan, MP for the key marginal of Enfield North, to £93,238 by Tory whip and Uxbridge MP John Randall.

Seventy-three London MPs ran up a bill of £8,885,878 in 2006/07 for allowances and expenses which can be used for a second home, travel, office costs, staff, IT and other purchases - or £121,724 on average each.

Overall, the average bill for each politician representing a constituency in the capital is just over £200,000 a year once their £60,675 salary and the average taxpayer contribution of £17,779 for each MPs' pension last year is taken into account.

This is lower than the average cost of more than £210,000 for MPs as a whole, partly because many politicians with constituencies outside London run up higher bills for second homes and have higher travel costs.

Low-tax campaigners have accused MPs of failing to deliver value for money. However, the Labour politician who spent £35,000 on stamps last year today insisted it proved she was being a good constituency MP.

Mitcham & Morden MP Siobhain McDonagh, who sent out more than 100,000 letters, said: "It is really important to stay in touch with my constituents. Representing them is the reason why I stood for Parliament."

Ms McDonagh, who has a 12,560 majority, amassed a total bill for dispatching letters of £48,000, including £35,207 for stamps and £13,900 for stationery in 2006/07.

This was more than Hendon Labour MP Andrew Dismore's record bill for the previous year of £37,000 for stationery, including £25,146 on prepaid stamped envelopes.

Despite Ms McDonagh's postage bill, Ms Ryan topped the league table of expenses and allowances for London MPs, having previously been in second place.

The four highest spenders were Labour MPs, with Ms McDonagh second on £163,226, Brent North MP Barry Gardiner on £160,464 and Brent South MP Dawn Butler on £157,311. She was the fastest climber up from 13th place to fourth. The steepest fall was Mr Dismore, last year's most expensive MP in the capital, down to eighth. Beckenham MP Jacqui Lait, number four last year, drops to 22.

Propping up the league table is Tory MP for Uxbridge John Randall, on £93,238. "It may be something to do with running my own business over the years," said the MP whip, who commutes to work. Mr Randall and David Evennett, the Tory MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford, have taken the bottom two places for the second consecutive year, with the eight lowest places this year being Conservatives.

The official figures published yesterday showed the total bill for MPs was £87.6 million. MPs have now voted themselves a £10,000-a-year communications allowance, with a £7,000 cap on pre-paid stamped envelopes.

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