LEYTON and Wanstead MP John Cryer’s expenses claims are among the highest in the country, according to the latest figures.

Records released by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) show that, of the 650 MPs, Mr Cryer was the eighth biggest claimant in November and December last year.

Payments included £8,625 to rent his constituency office in High Road, Leytonstone.

This compares to just £360.42 claimed by Stella Creasy MP for her office in nearby Walthamstow. Mr Cryer also spent a further £2,350 on staffing over the two months.

Mr Cryer said it was "misleading" to appear in the expenses top ten and insisted the claims were all legitimate.

"We were late submitting expenses for the office then there was a delay with IPSA paying the landlord so we had to submit three quarters of a year at once," he said.

"We also had a big case load so we hired a temporary worker to help deal with constituent' requests for help with issues like housing and immigration."

Mr Cryer won the safe Labour seat after former MP Harry Cohen stepped down over the expenses scandal. He declared a house in constituency as his second home, enabling him to pocket £70,000 for improvements and furnishings.

This was despite the fact that he spent most of his time there and often rented out his main home in Colchester.

He was forced to forfeit a £65,000 ‘golden goodbye’ payment on leaving Parliament after being found guilty of a serious breach of the rules. He lost a recent appeal against the ruling.

Mr Cryer himself faced criticism in 2009, when it was discovered that he and his mother Anne – then Labour MP for Keighley – were both claiming second home expenses for the same flat, also owned by other relatives.

Mr Cryer, then MP for Hornchurch, and his mother both designated the Westminster flat as their second home in 2004, with the current Wanstead MP claiming £400 a month in food costs.

However, he added that he currently claims nothing on food, phone or travel costs.

"The important thing is transparency, that is how the public know they can trust their MPs," he said.