RYEDALE MP John Greenway has defended his expense claims.

Mr Greenway has been criticised for spending £500 on flowers for his second home in London along more than £3,500 on household goods and furnishings, including a £399 flat-screen television and crockery.

The Telegraph also reported Mr Greenway claimed for a 59p box of matches; two 99p boxes of firelighters; eight mulled wine sachets; four bags of compost; a trellis; plant food; cups and saucers worth £44; a £24 lavatory brush; and a £30 casserole dish.

He is also said to have claimed £1,900 to redecorate the hall, kitchen, bathroom and stairs of his home, in 2004/5 and 2005/6.

But Mr Greenway has defended his claims in a statement to The Press and said he was “saddened” that the claims had been “sensationalised”.

He said: “The Daily Telegraph article stated that I had deliberately spent money on garden plants, repairs and redecoration as a prelude to selling my previous London home in Kennington, a short walk from the Houses of Parliament. This was never the case. The amounts which appeared in the Telegraph were the total of over more than two years claims, all of which were made by me in good faith and were approved without question by the House of Commons authorities.

“In addition, the pattern of spending on my London home entirely reflects spending on my main home in North Yorkshire which, quite rightly, comes out of my own pocket.”

“Many people in Ryedale are aware of the change in my personal circumstances between 2003 and 2006 which led to my decision to sell the house in Kennington and move to West London. I was correctly assessed for, and paid, capital gains tax when I sold the property and I made no claim for removal costs, stamp duty, improvements to or furnishings for the new house.”

Mr Greenway said the expenses scandal showed that the system of expenses needed reforming – although he voted against scrapping the second homes allowance last year.

He also attacked the media for undermining “the integrity of Members of Parliament by arguing that all MPs have manipulated the system and acted dishonestly”.

He said: “This is bad for democracy and bad for the country if it dissuades voters from engaging in the democratic process.”

He added: “Although I am not standing for Parliament at the next General Election I have real concerns that several hundred newly-elected MPs of all parties should be provided with adequate resources to maintain homes in both their constituencies and Westminster in order to serve their constituents in the way that I have always tried my hardest to do over the past 22 years.”