LORD IRVINE, the former lord chancellor, has cashed in on the generous system of parliamentary expenses to become one of the costliest peers in the upper house.

Irvine, who already receives a lavish state-funded pension, “clocked on” to become eligible for parliamentary expenses on 154 of the 157 days the House of Lords sat last year.

However, he voted in fewer than two-thirds of debates, dropping to one-third in the run-up to the election. He serves on no committees scrutinising policy, has not asked any parliamentary questions and rarely takes part in debates.

He is still entitled to pick up £192 for each day he signs in, plus first-class travel for himself and his wife to their home in Argyllshire, by exploiting a loophole in the expenses rules.

The House of Lords requires its members to declare a “main residence” for expenses claims. Those who register residences outside London are entitled to a £128 overnight allowance plus travel perks.

Although Irvine registers his home in Smith Square, London, as his main address on the electoral roll and other public records, he claims Loup House, a house near the village of Clachan, as his main residence to the Lords authorities.

A source at the Lords said: “The money is tax-free and can be a very valuable perk for those who know their way round the system. Lord Irvine has certainly not been backward at claiming his entitlement and will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the system when the expense claims are published later in the year.”

Irvine, who was a successful barrister and mentor to the young Tony Blair, has repeatedly attracted controversy over the perks he enjoys from the public purse. His package of perks from the Lords is set to reach more than £35,000 a year if he collects his full entitlement.

Shortly after being made lord chancellor in 1997, his official apartment at Westminster was refurbished at a cost of £650,000. This included £59,000 worth of wallpaper.

In 2003, Irvine initially refused to accept an inflation-linked rise in his salary and pushed for a rise more than five times higher. After opposition from Gordon Brown, he was forced to concede.

On leaving office, he collected a pension worth more than £2m. Lord Falconer, the current lord chancellor, has waived his rights to the pension.

Apart from his work at the House of Lords, Irvine is a consultant for Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate and a non-executive director of its ports division. He is thought to receive a six-figure package, although the company declined to comment.

Irvine is the most high-profile peer to exploit the loophole in the expense rules. Others to register non-London homes as their main residence, according to the latest information collated last November, include Baroness Jay and Baroness Blackstone, the former Labour ministers, and Lord Lawson, the former Tory chancellor. The money is paid tax-free and no inquiries take place to ensure the accuracy of information provided.

One Tory peer said: “The whole system has to be looked at afresh because at present it is neither fish nor fowl. The system has become lucrative and people take advantage of it, but it is still administered in the old, grand, gentlemanly way.”

Figures released earlier this month also showed that large numbers of Labour’s working peers were failing to vote. Lord Puttnam, the former film producer, voted on fewer than one in five occasions, Lord Simon, former chairman of BP, managed three votes and Lord Hollick, the media tycoon, just two out of 67.

Lord Irvine declined to comment on his expense claims or attendance.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Times Christmas appeal: Letter from the Editor
• Conferences — what a waste of money
• Schools supremo learns a painful lesson