John Bercow claims £172 for 0.7 mile journey

The journey – from the Commons to Carlton House Terrace – would have cost less than £15 in a taxi and taken around 14 minutes to walk.

The speaker also spent £367 taking a car to Luton to deliver a speech on how MPs were restoring their reputation after the expenses scandal.

The new details of Mr Bercow’s travel and accommodation costs have been disclosed after a freedom of information request from the Press Association.

This is an obscene waste of money and shows appalling judgment. Andy Silvester, TaxPayers’ Alliance

Three years’ worth of receipts reveal that the speaker took a number of journeys at the cost of the taxpayer, often booking with commercial firms such as Little’s Chauffeur Drive and WestOne.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance said it was an “obscene waste of money and shows appalling judgment”.

Mr Bercow is not believed to require an official car for security reasons, but the speaker used an official car to travel to Canterbury to see Archbishop Justin Welby enthroned in 2013, costing a total of £524.

In the same year he spent £168 on a one-way drive from Kings Cross station in London to his home. When attending a memorial service he billed £289 for keeping a chauffeur-driven car waiting five hours.

He also racked up a bill of £158 when he attended Baroness Thatcher’s funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral and £144 on transport to a dinner organised by charity Stonewall at the Dorchester Hotel.

During a trip to Burma he billed £193 for his dinner with an aide while staying in at five-star hotel.

He also spent £298 on a car picking him up in Manchester for a funeral and driving him around “as directed” before staying in a hotel in the city centre.

‘Speaker’s duties’

A spokesman for the speaker defended the costs, saying that Mr Bercow often attended funerals as a representative from parliament.

“One of the speaker’s duties is to represent parliament at home and abroad. The speaker attends funerals and memorials for former parliamentarians as both a mark of respect and as a representative of his parliamentary colleagues.

“The speaker is always mindful of costs, and travels standard class in the UK and when away from home, stays in hotels that offer value for money.

“In some instances a car service is required to facilitate timing requirements. In line with the speaker’s commitment to greater transparency, details of these costs have been published on a quarterly basis since 2013.”

‘Obscene waste’

But TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign director Andy Silvester said: “This is an obscene waste of money and shows appalling judgment from whoever made the arrangements.

“Hugely expensive chauffeur-driven travel and costly meals abroad don’t look good when this Speaker was elected specifically to improve the reputation of Parliament in light of the expenses scandal.

“It is impossible to comprehend how some of these bills have spiralled to such a degree and questions must be asked.

“This money doesn’t grow on trees – it comes straight out of taxpayers’ pockets, and it must be treated with more respect.”