The mileage milker

His Glasgow North East constituency covers 10 square miles, making it one of Scotland's smallest, but a Sunday newspaper found he has claimed £5,766 over the past two years. Mr Martin's claim is the equivalent of him using his own car to drive 600 miles per month.

Matthew Sinclair, research director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "There is no reason why an MP for a small, urban constituency should be claiming so much in mileage allowance and this suggests many of the trips may have paper-thin justifications."