Conservative MP Anthony Steen, who has announced he will not be standing at the next election, has said that his critics are "jealous" because he has a "very, very large house".
The long-standing MP for Totnes, in Devon, was alleged by the Daily Telegraph to have claimed more than £87,000 over four years for his country home.
The work included paying a forestry expert to inspect trees.
But Mr Steen told Radio Four's World at One programme he had behaved "impeccably".
Mr Steen later issued an apology for some of the comments he made on the World at One, saying he was "deeply upset" at the time he spoke to the BBC.
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