A SENIOR North-East MP yesterday revealed every detail of his expenses claims to counter the rising tide of public fury about the Westminster “gravy train”.

Durham North MP Kevan Jones invited The Northern Echo to view hundreds of paper receipts dating back four years, saying: “The public should see it all – it’s their money.”

The receipts ranged from gas bills, stationery and office rent to curtains and carpets for Mr Jones’ London home.

However, the Armed Forces Minister may disappoint anyone sniffing for scandal, because he claimed far less for those items of furniture than he paid for them.

This reporter’s eye briefly lit up when I spotted an item described as “Promo Digital MP3 player” on a receipt from a computer equipment company.

However, the player was provided free alongside purchases for Mr Jones’ constituency office. And, at £25 face value, it was scarcely top of the range.

The only possible embarrassment was a letter from the Commons fees office rejecting part of a claim under the second home allowance – because the MP had reached his limit for 2007-8.

Last night, the House of Commons Commission, which oversees MPs’ affairs, rejected calls for the immediate release of MPs’ expenses receipts, but said they will try to bring forward their publication from the planned date of mid-July.

Earlier, two other North- East MPs – Phil Wilson and Robert Blackman-Woods – also offered to reveal their receipts.

Mr Jones said: “There is no doubt that a lot of damage is being done to the reputation of Parliament and of all political parties.

“These expenses are going to be in the public domain anyway, so I thought it was important that local people should also see them.

“There is nothing that the public shouldn’t see – it’s their money.

“The majority of the claims are for running an office. I do have a second home in London, but I put £30,000 of my own money into it and I have not claimed the maximum for it.

“I have bought curtains and a carpet, but I didn’t claim the full amount for those items – only for what I thought was reasonable.”

Mr Jones’ files reveal he moved from the Tower Bridge area after buying a Westminster flat in 2004 – hence his purchase of a carpet and curtains.

He claimed £9,450 for the stamp duty on the purchase, but only £250 for the curtains (total cost £624) and only £796.77 for the carpet (total cost £1,913).

Mr Jones said he moved to be closer to Parliament, adding: “I sold my previous property for £1,000 less than I paid for it, so I didn’t trade up.”

Mr Wilson said his second home claim simply covered rent, utility bills, council tax and a sofa bed for when one of his children came to stay. “I got that in a sale, with £50 knocked off,” he said.

Ms Blackman-Woods said she had claimed for a bed, bedding, a bedside table and two small sofas on expenses, but had paid for a TV, a carpet and some “white goods” herself.

Claims made for pool costs and horse manure

A CONSERVATIVE MP used his taxpayer-funded expenses to have his swimming pool cleaned at his country home, it was disclosed last night.

James Arbuthnot claimed for pool maintenance as well as £2,433 for the cost of a housekeeper and £2,749 for work on trees, according to The Daily Telegraph.

In total, Mr Arbuthnot – the chairman of the Defence Select Committee – claimed £108,062 on his second home in five years, the most available under the MPs’ allowances system.

The Telegraph quoted Mr Arbuthnot saying the swimming pool claims were an “error of judgement” and he would pay the money back.

It is not clear how much he claimed for pool maintenance.

Other Tory MPs who used their expenses to maintain pools were named last night as former deputy leader Michael Ancram and Shadow Communities Minister Stewart Jackson.

Mr Jackson said he would be paying back the £304.10 he claimed for work on his swimming pool.

“The pool came with the house and I needed to know how to run it,” he said in a statement.

“Once I was shown that one time, there were no more claims.”

Backbench MP David Heathcoat-Amory claimed more than £380 for horse manure while Douglas Hogg, a former agriculture secretary, spent more than £2,000 expenses clearing the moat on his Lincolnshire estate.

Sir Michael Spicer, chairman of the powerful Tory backbench 1922 Committee, spent £5,650 of taxpayers’ money having his garden maintained. An invoice detailed “hedge cutting” and “helipad”.

He also claimed for the hanging of a chandelier at his manor house.

Sir Alan Haselhurst, Deputy Speaker of the Commons, also claimed for gardening – £12,000 over five years.

Former Home Secretary David Davis claimed for more than £10,000 of home renovations and furnishings, including a new £5,700 portico.

The MPs are among the latest tranche of Tories to have their claims exposed after the Conservative front bench had their allowances laid bare in yesterday’s paper.