AN EAST Lancashire MP was paid the maximum possible expenses last year, it has been revealed.

Commons officials refused to refund all the claims from Janet Anderson because they exceeded the £24,006 annual limit.

During 2008/09, the Labour MP for Rossendale and Darwen’s was refunded for:

* £4,400 in food.

* Dry cleaning bills of £504, including a tie, a petticoat, duvets, a dress, a belt and what appeared to be a leather coat.

* Three separate media packages, from Virgin, BT and Sky, in two months.

* Gardening bills of £544.

* Painting and decorating costs of £1,500, plus £350 for a replacement kitchen light including dimmer switch.

Under the controversial additional costs allowance, the MP reclaimed mortgage interest of over £500 a month on the home, in the Sunnyhurst area of Darwen.

And in August 2008 she submitted a retrospective demand for another £707 in interest after realising she had been under-claiming, charging taxpayers £22 for a new statement from her mortgage provider.

In May of this year she spent £73.39 during a trip to Helmshore-based Musbury Fabrics purchasing “English Rose” cushions, tea towels, and a £1 pack of dusters.

All these things, including a £7.99 “miscellaneous item”, were refunded by the Commons Fees Office.

A toilet cistern in her house also had to be repaired three times, costing £210.

Earlier this year interim measures to change the rules on MPs’ expenses were put in place – food claims were outlawed and replaced by a £25-a-night “subsistence” allowance.

Mrs Anderson, whose main residence is in London, claimed this 35 times in the first quarter of the year.

She was the only East Lancashire MP to claim the maximum allowance last year, although those MPs with second homes in London generated higher mortgage and service costs.

She did not respond to requests for a comment yesterday.