Most costly members in the capital

London's most expensive MP was revealed today as Andrew Dismore, who drew £147,650 in expenses last year on top of his salary of £54,725.

The Labour member for Hendon pushed up his total by spending £38,755 on stationery and postage - six times more than most colleagues.

He was rivalled in the high-spending stakes by Tory MP Jacqui Lait who lodged the capital's biggest claim for travel expenses - £15,519 - even though her Beckenham seat is only eight miles from the Houses of Parliament. Her claim was five times more than the London average.

The figures emerged from the first register of MPs' expenses published by the Commons.

It showed that 32 outer London MPs claimed an allowance which pays up to £20,333 a year towards the cost of buying or renting a second home.

The Evening Standard yesterday highlighted Barry Gardiner who claimed the maximum amount to pay mortgage interest on his Pimlico flat even though his Brent North constituency is only half an hour from Westminster on the Jubilee line.

Also claiming the full second-home allowance was former sports minister Tony Banks, whose West Ham seat is half an hour from Parliament on the District line.

Mr Dismore, 50, a former solicitor and Westminster city councillor, was the only London MP to scrape into a national Top 10 of high expenses claims - a list dominated by Scottish members who face high travel costs.

His claim for postage amounted to the cost of 133,320 second class stamps, suggesting he posted about 800 letters every day the Commons was sitting - two per year to each of his north London constituents.

By contrast, Michael Portillo (Conservative, Kensington and Chelsea) appeared to have written the fewest letters, with only £638 spent on stationery and postage.

The capital's 74 MPs cost taxpayers a total of £8.1 million in expenses last year, two-thirds of which went on staffing costs. The average claim was £110,000 per MP.

The register did not disclose which MPs claimed the housing allowance to help them buy second homes - putting them in line to profit from rising house prices - and which used it to pay rent.

Only 17 of the outer London MPs eligible for the allowance turned it down. Among those claiming in excess of £20,000 towards second homes were Roger Casale (Labour, Wimbledon), Harry Cohen (Labour, Leyton and Wanstead), Derek Conway (Conservative, Old Bexley and Sidcup), Jon Cruddas (Labour, Dagenham), Mike Gapes (Lab/Co-op, Ilford South), Linder Perham (Labour, Ilford North) and Andrew Rosindell (Conservative, Romford).

The most frugal were Vince Cable (Lib-Dem, Twickenham) and Sarah Teather (Lib-Dem, Brent East), the only London MPs to turn down both the housing allowance and the ?1,574 London allowance which those with only one home can get as consolation.

Lowest overall expenses went to former sports minister Kate Hoey (Labour, Vauxhall) who claimed ?81,103. She spent ?10,000 less on staff than most of her colleagues.