A British Government minister yesterday defended claiming the maximum expenses for a second home in London despite living just 19 miles from the House of Commons.

Helen Grant, appointed to the Ministry of Justice in September’s reshuffle, lives in a £1.8 million home in Reigate, Surrey – outside her Maidstone constituency.

The Equalities Minister also rents a Thameside flat, which is funded on expenses.

Mrs Grant is eligible for a second home allowance on Parliamentary expenses because her constituency is outside London and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) confirmed the MP’s claim was within the rules. But the Reigate home in which Grant lives is not far enough from London for the constituency MP – Tory Crispin Blunt – to make similar expenses claims.

A spokeswoman for Grant said yesterday: “Ms Grant’s constituency has been deemed by IPSA to be a non-London constituency and she is therefore fully entitled to use her rental accommodation allowance either in London or in the constituency.”

The expense claims were uncovered in an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches, which is due to broadcast a film called MPs: Are They Still At It? today.