A BRENT MP who made a £200,000 profit selling a second home charged the taxpayer £11,500 when moving to his Wembley flat.

Barry Gardiner (Lab/Brent North) came under fire in May after it emerged he sold his second home in Pimlico, central London, for more than he bought it for.

But when it came to moving to his new flat in Wembley he filed expenses for £7,800 on stamp duty alone, along with almost £3,800 for a variety of other legal costs, according to figures released by Parliament this week.

He claimed another £2,700 for redecorating the apartment, most of which went on refurbishing the living room, two bedrooms and two corridors.

He was paid a further £415 to cover council tax costs.

Councillor Paul Lorber, Lib Dem leader of Brent Council, said: “He's already made a massive profit on his old flat and gets the taxpayer to pay the legal costs on his new one.

“I nearly fell off my chair when I heard about the council tax. I was absolutely appalled.”

Mr Gardiner was unavailable for comment as he is at the climate change conference in Copenhagen.