Brandon Lewis says Labour accusations of taxpayer funding for political work are “completely false”

The housing minister said expenses watchdog IPSA had been approving claims since 2010, but Labour has called for an investigation into payments of £37,000 to the campaigns consultancy Papagenos, listed as research briefing and other parliamentary associated assistance.

Andrew Baxter, one of two partners at Papagenos, was Mr Lewis's election agent in 2010 and will hold the role for the General Election in May.

IPSA said it only paid MPs for the costs associated with carrying out their Parliamentary work.

'In this instance, the MP has asked for reimbursement of these claims which are for research and briefing to support his Parliamentary duties – activities which are reasonable and which most MPs have staff to help them with,' a spokesman said.

'If there is evidence that someone has received public funds to carry out political campaigns then, of course, we would be interested to see that evidence,' he added.

Mr Lewis said that Mr Baxter's role as an election agent was a 'separate job'.

What somebody does as a political agent, or anything like that, has to be paid for through campaign funds.

'When anything is done politically, it is paid for that way. It is paid for through my fundraising and campaign fund.

'What he [Mr Baxter] has done through IPSA is parliamentary related work. That is why IPSA has been happy with it for five years. This is not something new. It is not something that has suddenly started, it has always been this way.'

He said within the parliamentary work Mr Baxter had organised jobs fairs, written speeches. 'He still does some constituency-based stuff and he does a bit of support for case work occasionally,' he added.

'If they [IPSA] have written to me, I have not seen it yet. I have not had any contact with them.'

'They [the Labour allegations] are completely false. Everything is very clear and very transparent, everything is declared and always has been.'

But Karl Turner, Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull East told The Times that Mr Lewis had 'serious questions to answer' on why he chose to pay a company run by his constituency agent using public money.

'If the work they did for him was prohibited it would be a clear breach of the rules on expenses. His constituents will rightly demand answers,' he added.

In a letter to the expenses watchdog, Mr Turner said: 'Papagenos Campaign Consultancy advertises itself as a campaigns consultancy and its founder, Andrew Baxter, appears to be his agent as well as a sub-postmaster in Scotland and an independent councillor.'

Referring to a now-defunct website for Papagenos, he said: 'Nowhere does it state that it provides parliamentary or policy research, briefing or assistance. All the activities it says it provides appear to be political campaigning activities.'