DORSET’S MPs are some of the most thrifty as the latest round of expenses are revealed.

The new South Dorset MP Richard Drax, along with North Dorset MP Bob Walter, are listed as claiming nothing in expenses after the General Election between May 7 and August 31, while West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin claimed £309.59.

The figures come from the Independent Parliamentary Stan-dards Authority (IPSA) which has just published all MPs expenses online in a new system.

It reveals there has been a major scale-back in claims since the public fury over the expenses scandal.

The highest claimer overall was Keith Simpson, the Conservative MP for Mid-Norfolk, who was reimbursed £20,752.

According to the IPSA, Richard Drax claimed nothing for the quarter. However, Mr Drax said that he had claimed expenses for travel costs from his home on the Drax estate near Bere Regis to London for his parliamentary duties. He said he did not know why the expenses had not appeared on the IPSA site.

Mr Drax added: “Any claim I have made for mileage is what we’re allowed.

“The new intake of MPs have got to learn from the expenses debacle and behave honourably and honestly.”

An IPSA spokesman said it did not comment on individuals but was confident the information was correct.

Oliver Letwin, Conservative MP for West Dorset and Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, claimed £309.59 for the quarte – including £118.22 for use of a constituency telephone and £144.55 for hire and payments for his mobile phone.

He also claimed £46.80 for a return journey on the train from London to Crewkerne.

Mr Letwin said that having the expenses online would give a greater transparency to the system.

He said: “People are very conscious of the expenses scandal and people are being ultra careful about it unsurprisingly.

“We are all being very careful. The events of the last couple of years will live with us for years to come.”

He added: “We started being transparent a while ago and started putting our expenses online a couple of years ago. People can see everything.”

Mr Letwin said that he had had experienced difficulty working out the complex new system of claiming back travel costs and said that he did not want to make any claims until he had made sure he would be doing it correctly.

He added that his fuel costs for driving up to London and back every week would appear on future expenses bills.

What they spent

Oliver Letwin, West Dorset: £309.59

Bob Walter, North Dorset: £0

Richard Drax, South Dorset: £0

(Figure according to IPSA – but he said he had claimed for travel expenses)

Annette Brooke, Mid-Dorset and North Poole: £3,046.30

Robert Syms, Poole: £7,814.25

Conor Burns, Bournemouth West: £0

(Figure according to the IPSA – but he lists £4,458.33 of claims on his website)

Christopher Chope, Christchurch: £1,238

Tobias Ellwood, Bournemouth East: £858.43