MPs are allowed to splurge up to £1,770 of taxpayers' money on home cinema equipment for their London pied à terre, it's been revealed, as part of the so-called "John Lewis* list".

The document has been released as part of the ongoing scrutiny of the seemingly generous expenses or elected representatives grant themselves. It details the maximum "reasonable" allowances for pimping out second homes.

Our lawyer readers will be pleased to note that there's a £50 allowance for a shredder; kit today's discerning MP should always have close at hand.

Of particular interest to most Reg readers will be news that your also MP gets £750 to splurge on a big TV, £750 for hi-fi equipment and £270 for a recordable DVD player. In all that makes for a decent home cinema setup and with the right player could be doubly useful for making copies of HMRC data.

We just hope nobody bought a HD-DVD box.

If any MP staff are reading, the lads round at Reg Hardware are offering their services on a consultancy basis to help avoid such technological blundering. Standard McKinsey rates apply. ®

*For our US readers, John Lewis is an old school department store favoured by couples for their wedding list, mostly because it's expensive gear.

Bootnote

Here's the full package:

Air conditioning unit - £299.99
Bed - £1,000
Bedside cabinet - £100
Bookcase/shelf - £200
Bookcase/cabinet - £500
Carpet - £35 per square metre
Carpet fitting - £6.50 per square metre
Coffee maker/machine - £100
Coffee table - £250
Dining armchairs (each) - £150
Dining chairs (each) - £90
Dining table - £600
Dishwasher - £375
Drawer chest (five) - £500
Dressing table - £500
Dry cleaning - both personal and household [items] are allowable within reasonable limits
Food mixer - £200
Freestanding mirror - £300
Fridge/freezer combi - £550
Gas cooker - £650
Hi-fi/stereo - £750
Installation of new bathroom - £6,335
Installation of new kitchen - £10,000
Lamp table - £200
Nest of tables - £200
Recordable DVD - £270
Rugs (each) - £300
Shredder - £50
Sideboard - £795
Suite of furniture - £2,000
Television set - £750
Tumble dryer - £250
Underlay (basic) - £6.99 per square metre
Wardrobe - £700
Washer dryer - £500
Washing machine - £350
Wooden flooring/carpets - £35 per square metre
Workstation - £150

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