'Vain' Commons Speaker has his nose reduced in official portrait

And Commons Speaker Michael Martin has apparently found something else he thinks could do with a little improvement.

He has ordered an artist to make his nose smaller in an official portrait. The picture has hung in his apartments for four years but now boasts a smaller hooter than when it was originally painted.

'Nosejob': House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin had his nose made smaller in an official portrait, right

Andrew Festing, a renowned portraitist who has previously painted the Queen and Cardinal Basil Hume, said he went back and reduced its size when Mr Martin complained. 'He wanted his nose changed and I did it,' he said. 'He said it was too big.'

Mr Martin was apparently too busy to return after the initial sitting, so the objection to the size of the nose came only after the portrait had been finished.

The picture hangs in Speaker's House, his Grade One listed apartment in the shadow of Big Ben. Mr Martin has spent £1.7million on improvements since he moved in after being elected Speaker in October 2000.

The money went on furniture, air conditioning and 'building restoration and refurbishments'; £13,000 was spent on artwork, presumably including the official portrait.

The problems over the portrait are the first time Mr Martin, 63, has been shown to be thin-skinned about his appearance.

He was known to be sensitive to references to his background and dislikes the nickname Gorbals Mick, which refers to his Glasgow upbringing  -  he comes from a different part of the city. He is also known to like the high life. Last month figures revealed he had stayed in exclusive hotels in the U.S., Kenya and Hawaii at the taxpayers' expense while on official visits.

Mr Martin, who earns £138,724 as Speaker, has come under fire after racking up almost £50,000 in air travel costs.

His wife Mary ran up £4,000 in taxi bills, although she was cleared of any impropriety in doing so by the Commons authorities.

Mr Martin, a former sheet metal worker, can look forward to a comfortable retirement after being awarded a taxpayer-funded pension worth £1.4million.