MPs having their snouts in the trough is hardly news.

But the publication of Tory MPs' expenses claims could not have come at a worse time for the party.

Wantage MP Ed Vaizey spent £658 on a dishwasher and washing machine and £474 on curtains and blinds to make his new constituency home more comfortable.

Many families in his constituency are earning just enough to get by and are having to tighten their belts in these times of economic hardship.

The claims were above board, but it is hardly the message the Conservatives want to portray less than two years from a General Election.