MPs' Expenses: John Gummer claimed £36,000 for gardening and mole-hunting at his estate

Former Environment Minister John Gummer claimed more than £9,000 a year in gardening expenses over a four-year period – including £100 to rid his lawn of moles in one year alone.

The senior Tory claimed hundreds of pounds to tackle wildlife on his Suffolk country home, with bills to remove jackdaw nests, combat insect infestations and an annual ‘rodent service’ contract.

His claims make a mockery of Commons rules which state that an MP should only recoup costs essential to their parliamentary duties.

Mr Gummer claimed close to the maximum Additional Costs Allowance every year – but leaked correspondence from the Commons Fees Office published last night show he was less than meticulous in submitting receipts to support his expenses claims.

In one letter, he admitted that he drew up some paperwork himself, saying he had to ‘create receipts from the people who work for us in Suffolk as we have not previously had any such system’.