MARK Oaten says the Westminster expenses scandal has made him ashamed to to be an MP.

The Winchester MP described the last few weeks as a “horrible experience,” but argued it was not important if his expenses were higher or lower than other MPs.

“The issue is that people will say we shouldn’t have a home and we shouldn’t claim for a television,” he said.

“We have to accept that a lot of the public will think we have claimed for things that we shouldn’t have claimed for in the first place.”

He admitted the controversy had damaged how politicians were regarded.

“I think it’s been a horrible experience all round, for the members of parliament, and also for the public,” he said.

“It’s been a miserable few weeks for democracy.”

He said on a recent trip to the New Forest with his family he started chatting to some other visitors.

“After a while the inevitable question came up of what I did for a living, and I didn’t want to admit to being a member of parliament. That can’t be good for politics in general,” he said.

Mr Oaten’s expenses were revealed last year, along with 13 other MPs under a Freedom of Information request.

His annual expenses came to £138,030, including around £84,000 for staff and around £21,000 on his second home in London.

The new figures also showed that Mr Oaten paid £1,200 per month in rent to his own party.

Since 1997 he has kept an office at Winchester Liberal Democrats’ HQ, which was in Southgate Street, before moving to City Road.

However, he said the cash went into a separate party account for property fees. As a result, public money could not be spent on campaigning and leaflets.

It also emerged that Mr Oaten often claimed more than £1,000 a month for the mortgage on his London flat.

He also claimed for utility bills, phone calls, food and cleaning. However, there were often no receipts, and figures were rounded to multiples of £10.

For example, his monthly phone bill was often £50 or £100. Mr Oaten explained that he tried to estimate the cost before personal calls.

He also repaid £380 claimed for council tax in 2006/07. He said his rates were usually settled by a lump sum, or monthly, but for a brief period that year he said he accidentally did both.

Mr Oaten also repaid a further £807 in 2006/07. He said it was because the Fees Office told him he could claim more money than was actually the case.

His London flat proved costly to maintain at times with £500 for woodwork, painting and re-plastering.

Nearly £520 was claimed towards refitting the bathroom, along with £220 for replacing the kitchen floor and £200 for a plumber.

Mr Oaten said the work was done because the kitchen and bathroom flooded three times, and damaged his neighbour’s ceiling below.

He said: “The water was damaging the ceiling of my neighbours below me and they were becoming upset, so I had to do something.”

He added that he claimed for repairs, but paid for any “cosmetic” improvements himself.

Taxpayers funded several creature comforts though, including a mirror costing £35, and two televisions.

Mr Oaten also claimed for two irons in the space of three years, costing £56 and £60 each. For comparison, the Winchester branch of Argos sells 14 different irons at £20 or less.

In terms of office and computer supplies, Viking Direct and Spotbeam were the most favoured companies. The latter received more than £4,000 in the 2007/08 financial year.

MARK Wallace, campaign director of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said it was not unusual for MPs to pay rent to their local parties.

He said: “It is quite a widespread thing, we’re seeing a lot of this. Now it could well be that taxpayers’ money is being used well, but we need to see something to prove it.

“We need to know if Mr Oaten looked at other properties, and what the costs of those places were.”

He added that utility and food bills should not be estimated, but backed up with receipts.

“It’s unacceptable that no receipts should be submitted, and this is a policy that is thankfully coming to an end,” he said.

FACT BOX: Mark Oaten’s shopping list 2004-08 includes: Two irons, bought for £56 and £60 respectively A blender for £38 A table costing £120 Claims of £219 and £157 for a mattress and bed A mirror costing £35 A new carpet costing £100 Two televisions, costing £159 and £199 Payment of £121 for a television licence