Alan Duncan has been cleared by the The Commons Standards and Privileges Committee of breaching expenses rules.

It had been alleged that he had claimed for a mortgage on a house which he already owned outright, but the committee said there was nothing in his mortgage arrangements that breached Commons rules.

The Commissioner for Standards John Lyon said Mr Duncan “acted reasonably and fully within the rules of the House at the time”.

In its conclusions, the report says the rules at the time “required only for the amount claimed to have been spent on additional costs necessarily incurred in overnight stays away from the member’s home.”

It adds: “The costs incurred as a result of Mr Duncan’s mortgage secured on his London home were solely and exclusively for his constituency property.”

The commissioner said the claims were “a legitimate call on his additional costs allowance” and Mr Duncan “was not in breach of the rules”.