DAVID Davies has told The Chronicle that he feels sad that all MPs are being "tarred with the same brush" over the expenses row.

The Monmouth MP has criticised the way certain details of MPs expenses have been "needlessly blacked out" on the House of Commons website. He says it makes it appear that MPs have something to hide.

After more than a month of revelations about claims and allowances, details have been officially published on the House of Commons website.

The publication of more than one million claims made over the course of four years by 646 MPs follows a legal battle lasting several years, against requests under the Freedom of Information Act for details of a handful of MPs' expenses claims.

Leaked details were made available through the Daily Telegraph in May.

The officially published claims contain large areas of blacked out text, with MPs allowed to cover up sensitive information like home addresses and bank account numbers.

Mr Davies has invited Chronicle reporters to his office to view the full details, as well as an independent panel set up to scrutinise it. Details are also on his website.

"There's nothing to hide here. They removed personal details such as bank account numbers and addresses but for some reason they blanked out all sorts of information.

"People are confusing the word expenses with Additional Cost Allowance - the cost incurred by maintaining two homes. We're allowed £24,000 to cover this. MPs have been free to spend it as they wish as long as it's backed up with receipts.

"What I did was what I was advised to do. I bought a flat I used the money to pay the mortgage, I didn't have lots of money. The money is given to MPs as part of wages for doing a job.

"If people go on my website there are questions and answers. There are going to be things that people complain about ."

Some of the claims on Mr Davies' details include furniture, bills, mobile phone rentals, stamps and leaflets.

He defended his allowances, including paying more than £1,900 to a family firm from his parliamentary allowances. He paid his father's haulage company for stamps, producing leaflets and a screen for an exhibition stand.

However, the MP said the work was done at cost price and at short notice as a favour. Mr Davies worked for the business - Burrow Heath, which has since ceased trading - before he was elected to the Welsh Assembly in 1999.

He said he has not received any money from the firm since.

"I asked for it as a favour and it was done at a cost. There was no money made by Burrow Heath. If anything they were really donating their time. I did not benefit from it. Look at the cost and look at what was actually done and it was done very, very cheaply.

"This has been very damaging for MPs. It's disappointing, very disappointed that people have tarred all MPs with the same brush without fully understanding what's been going on. When I bought that flat I found £1,000 in the skirting boards and tracked the previous owners down to return the money. It's sad that MPs are getting hate mail from people."

Details of all MPs allowances can be seen on http://www.parliament.uk">www.parliament.uk.