Details Of Speaker Bercow's Spending Revealed

Commons Speaker John Bercow is again under pressure over his expenses after he spent thousands wining and dining colleagues with the taxpayer picking up the bill.

Mr Bercow used the money to provide lunches and dinners for other MPs, including more than £2,000 on a "standing down" supper for his former deputy.

Details have emerged that the Speaker also charged for hundreds of postcard-sized photographs of himself that are "sent out on request," nearly £2,000 worth of beeswax candles, and hundreds of pounds to tune the grand piano in his apartments.

The full breakdown of spending charged to the Speaker's official account was obtained by the Press Association using freedom of information laws.

The request also revealed that records of spending before April 2012 had been destroyed because of parliament's "records disposal policy".

The Speaker’s Office defended Mr Bercow's spending - pointing out that overall annual expenditure had fallen 19.4% to £504,000 since he took on the role in 2009.

A spokeswoman said: "These costs relate to nearly four years of expenditure, including, amongst other things, staff pay, office supplies, telephone calls and rental, as well as the official entertainment of foreign dignitaries and parliamentarians traditionally provided by the Speaker's Office.

"The Speaker is committed to cutting costs wherever possible, and the overall expenditure of the Speaker's Office has fallen during his tenure from £626,029 in 2009-10 to £504,737 in 2014-15, representing a reduction of 19.4% since he was elected to the role."

Last summer Mr Bercow's use of chauffeured cars in the UK also came under scrutiny. It emerged that he had been driven to a conference just 0.7 miles from the Commons at a cost of £172.

The new spending figures include £1,700 for a reception for retiring MPs before last year's election and another £3,000 on an event for newly-elected members in the summer.

A dinner to honour the Australian Speaker cost nearly £2,000 in May 2014.

A meal with the Lithuanian Speaker in February last year cost £1,600.62.

And around £30,000 has been spent on "refreshments" for lectures delivered by politicians at parliament.