Tory admits spending too much on night at hotel and furniture for home

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But Mr Gove rejected the charge that he had "flipped" his home designation to exploit the expenses system and made a staunch defence of his right to spend more time with his family.

The Surrey Heath MP claimed for more than £7,000 on a semi-detached home in North Kensington, near David Cameron's house. Among the items were a £750 Loire table and a birch Camargue chair worth £432. His claim for a £34.99 foam cot mattress was rejected by the Commons authorities.

Mr Gove then switched his "second home" allowance to a new home bought near Guildford in his constituency. Between his house moves, he claimed £500 for one night's stay at Pennyhill Park Hotel and Spa.

Mr Gove said he was sorry if the public felt there had been "extravagance" in purchases for his London home. "I do believe that there were one or two occasions where I spent more money than I should have done," he said. "People are right to be angry about the current system. The whole system is rotten. I played a part in it and for that I apologise. I am sorry."

Mr Gove said he had tried commuting from Guildford but decided it was more effective for him to have an extra home in London for late-night meetings. He accepted many of his constituents were commuters and would make their own judgments as to whether the cost to the taxpayer was worth it.

But he denied that he "flipped" the designation of his second home. "I did not flip, I moved my family - I did not profit at the taxpayers' expense, I have been honest," he said. "The charge of flipping against me is completely wrong. All that I did was move my family from Surrey to London. Your principle home is where you spend the majority of nights, it would have been dishonest not to change the designation."