The Tory MP whose claim for the cleaning of the moat at his country estate came to embody MPs' excesses – and inspired the Poet Laureate to verse – is to stand down at the next general election.

Douglas Hogg, who has represented Sleaford and North Hykeham in Lincolnshire since 1979 and served as Agriculture Minister under John Major, announced his decision as Westminister absorbed the news of the impending resignation of Michael Martin, the Commons Speaker.

Mr Hogg, who outside politics is known as Viscount Hailsham, was embarrassed by a report in The Daily Telegraph that he had claimed £2,115 for having the moat dredged at his country manor house. Other claims included £40 to have a piano tuned and £646.25 for "general repairs, stable etc".

Mr Hogg, an Eton-educated barrister whose father and grandfather both served as Lord Chancellor, denied that he had explicitly claimed to have his moat cleaned, saying that the bill had been included on a long list of expenses incurred in running his estate.

He agreed, nevertheless, to pay back the money as David Cameron, the Tory leader, tried to distance the party from allegations of sleaze.

In a statement today, Mr Hogg said: “I entirely understand the public anger that has erupted over expenses. The current system is deeply flawed; we parliamentarians have got it wrong and I apologise for that failure, which is both collective and personal.

“In view of David Cameron’s campaign for an early election – which I strongly support – I have decided that now is the time to tell the Sleaford and North Hykeham Association that I will not be standing in the coming election.

“This will give them time to select a new candidate to best represent local and national interests.”

Mr Hogg is likely to go down in history as the MP whose expenses claim inspired the new Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, to compose her first verse on national events – an off-the-cuff couplet she revealed at a school in Manchester yesterday: "What did we do with the trust of your vote?/Hired a flunky to flush out the moat."

In his resignation statement, Mr Hogg said that of the 640 MPs in Parliament, 550 claimed more on expenses than he did in 2007/2008.

"Furthermore, all the claims that I made on the ’second homes allowance’ were agreed in advance and in writing with the Fees Office. I shared with them all my expenditure on my Lincolnshire home to allow them to determine what was appropriate," he added.

"While the previously agreed items more than exceeded the amount that I have claimed and therefore the cost of cleaning the moat was not a live issue, I didn’t make it expressly plain that I was not requesting clearance for the cost of the moat.

"Therefore, despite never having received any money in respect of the cost of cleaning the moat, and in recognition of the fact that parliamentary expenses need to be both reasonable and seen to be reasonable, I have agreed to pay to the Fees Office £2,200, which is the cost of doing that work, as well as to forgo any further claim on the ’second home allowance’."

Mr Hogg's agent, Rosemary Kaberry-Brown, who has worked with the MP since 1981, said: "From what I can tell you the House of Commons has lost one of the best parliamentarians it has ever had.

"He has given his life to the public and to this country and, believe you me, they are going to regret this. He has only gone because of the actions of something he was supposed to have done but hasn’t done."

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