AN INVESTIGATION into whether Leyton and Wanstead MP Harry Cohen broke expenses rules has been launched.

The inquiry, by Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards John Lyon, comes after a complaint by a member of the public, it has been reported.

The complaint centres around allegations that Mr Cohen used his second home allowance to claim for his main home.

According to the Daily Mail newspaper Mr Lyons said to the complainer: "The arrangements for the complaints system and the criminal law were set out in a report by the Committee on Standards and Privileges in 2008.

"I follow those arrangements. Having accepted your complaint, I have written to Mr Cohen for his comments."

The MP has always denied any wrongdoing.

It was recently revealed that Mr Cohen claims more expenses for his second home than any other MP in outer London.

He received an Additional Cost Allowance (ACA) of £104, 701 between 2002 and 2007 for his constituency home in Wanstead.

Mr Cohen declares his main family home as being in Colchester, Essex.

Guidance produced for MPs by the House of Commons department of finance and administration says: "If you have more than one home, your main home will normally be the one where you spend more nights than any other."

Mr Cohen admits that he spends 90 per cent of his time at his Wanstead home, but denies he is not acting within the spirit of the rules.

The MP attracted controversy recently when he wrote a letter to the Guardian claiming: “I am almost certainly the most professional MP Leyton and Wanstead has ever had, and that includes Winston Churchill.”