The upper chamber’s controversial catering subsidy increased by £100,000 last year. The lavish subsidy allows peers to enjoy fine-dining at knock-down prices.

British taxpayers may have to pay more money to Brussels to cover the rising cost of pensions for EU civil servants and MEPs. This year the pension bill for EU officials jumped by 7 per cent to £1.3 billion.

Rob Gray, of Westley, Suffolk, was sent the bill for 30 times the amount he usually pays Scottish Power for his electricity. After weeks of worry for the pensioner, the company has apologised.

Katie Amos, 30, and fiancé Lee Johnston, 29, from Burgh-le-Marsh, Lincolnshire, welcomed son Dax unexpectedly after she went into labour 11 weeks early while sightseeing in New York.

The Cabinet Office insists ‘centralised’ records mean it would be too expensive to provide details of the Prime Minister’s spending at Chequers, and that of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at Chevening.

EXCLUSIVE: Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith today condemns the ‘absurd’ handouts and vows to change the rules which have cost the UK taxpayer £130million in a decade.