WEST Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett this week said he ?broadly agreed? with the recommendations of the Senior Salary Review Board, which has just published a list of expenses claimed by politicians.
Mr Burnett said the allowance system needed updating to reflect the changes in the working hours of the House of Commons.
?I strongly agree that everything should be in the public domain ? and I suspect we will become more like the United States soon, with MPs having to publish their tax returns,? said Mr Burnett.
The MP claimed £20,333 under the additional costs allowance ? which politicians outside inner London can claim, tax-free, to cover accommodation in the capital. It is an allowance Mr Burnett believes needs modernising, as it can be claimed by MPs living in the suburbs.
?Why should they have such a generous allowance now the hours have been changed?
?When I first became an MP we were sitting until 3am but now we?ve modernised the hours, you can go home at 10pm, when you can easily get a train and be home by 10.30pm,? he said.
The MP, who has one of the three largest geographical constituencies in England, claimed £20,820 in travel expenses between April 2003 and March 2004.
He said the current rate of 57p per mile for the first 20,000 miles travelled by an MP was ?very generous? and agreed with the board?s recommendation that the allowance should be reduced to 40p for the first 10,000 miles, 25p per mile thereafter.
Mr Burnett claimed a fairly substantial sum to cover staff costs ? £71,773 ? but said employing up to four people was vital to his work.
?I have about 110,000 constituents, one of the largest numbers in the country, and I receive at least 100 letters a day ? I have a huge constituency and it would be absolutely impossible to work without my staff,? he said.