THE Conservative MP for Darlington has explained why he spent more than £8,000 on the printing and distribution of leaflets in one month last year.

Peter Gibson, who had claimed more than £66,000 in expenses over a ten-month period last year, responded following latest data published last week.

Analysis of MPs expenses from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority revealed Mr Gibson had spent £8,210 on leaflets for his constituency in April 2020.

The costs, which were described as providing "vital information" to constituents on Covid-19, were the highest such costs claimed by any MP across the UK in one month.

Read more: THE 6 MPs that claimed the HIGHEST expenses in the region - with £327k in ten months

IPSA data revealed that the only MPs close to spending this amount was Conservative MP for North Wiltshire, James Gray and Labour MP for Wentworth and Dearne, John Healey.

They spent £7,981 and £7,794 respectively, while the next closest MP was Conservative MP for Barrow and Furness, Simon Fell, with £5,460.

But explaining the costs, Mr Gibson said his business costs are in full compliance with regulations set out by IPSA who "scrutinise and examine" every item.

He said the costs paid for leaflets which were sent to every household in Darlington, which "ensured" constituents had been given "key information" on support.

He said the costs had come out of an additional budget that had been allocated to MPs at the beginning of the pandemic.

He said: “As is public knowledge IPSA allocated MPs additional budget at the start of the pandemic, I chose to use this to send every household in Darlington a leaflet which contained vital information about helplines and support available.

Read more: From toilet roll to flats in London: This is what MPs can claim expenses for

"We should not assume that every household chooses to have access to the internet, a television or a radio and it was important that I ensured constituents were given the key information about the support available to them.”

Following most recent figures available, which show how much MPs spent in the first ten-months of the 2020 tax year, Mr Gibson's expenses were the highest in the region.

In response to that, he said: “Over the course of the last year the pandemic, my constituents were presented with huge challenges which my team and I stepped up to respond to.

"From supporting constituents in making claims, to ensuring that constituents abroad were able to return safely to Darlington, whilst supporting them overseas with access to necessities such as medication supplies and providing overall advice in general.

"At the peak of the pandemic, my team was working seven days a week.

"My office has provided and continues to provide a first-class service to constituents, and as with any business my employees need the necessary materials in order to carry out their roles."

To view the IPSA figures for each MP - click here