MP's promise on home allowance

Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski is to give up his London flat in a personal gesture designed to open his own expenses to public view.

The Shrewsbury and Atcham MP said he would no longer stay in a rented flat in Westminster when he was in London carrying out his parliamentary duties.

Instead, he plans to join a London club and pay £94 for the nights he spends away from his Shropshire constituency.

"I have calculated that I am in London for 110 nights a year out of 365, and I have concluded that it is not viable to rent an apartment to stay in London for less than a third of the year," said Mr Kawczynski.

"I am not saying that will suit all MPs because some choose to have their family with them in London. But my family choose to stay in Shropshire.

"I shall be paying £94 a night and this will cost around £10,000 a year - less than half of the £24,000 maximum allowance for maintaining a home in London," said the Shrewsbury MP.

Mr Kawczynski said he was making the move following the rejection by the Commons of his proposal for MPs to stay in a university-style halls of residence in London to cut costs.

His comments come after Prime Minister Gordon Brown today proposed that the controversial John Lewis list which dictates how much MPs can spend on their second homes in London should be scrapped - in favour of a cheaper Ikea or Argos list.

Tory leader David Cameron proposed that the list should be abolished.