TIM Farron has strongly defended himself after criticism by Conservative groups following the publication of MPs’ expenses this week.

A row blew up after it was revealed the Westmorland and Lonsdale MP had claimed a total of £205,136.77 in the year ending July 31, 2018.

The Westmorland Conservative group noted it was the highest figure of the six Cumbrian members of parliament and questioned whether Mr Farron was offering value for money to his constituents.

And after noting that Mr Farron missed 40 per cent of Commons votes during the period, Conservative South Lakeland councillor Tom Harvey attacked the sitting MP.

“ I know most work hard for their constituents, but when our MP is ranked amongst the lowest for votes attended in parliament and the highest when it comes to claiming expenses the public have a right to ask whether they’re getting value for money,” said Cllr Harvey.

But the MP defended his record and rounded on his political rivals, insisting he always kept expenses to a minimum.

“While South Lakes Conservatives desperately launch personal attacks from behind their keyboards to disguise from the fact that their party is making such a mess of our country, we are getting things done,” said Mr Farron.

“I always keep the costs that my office and I incur as small as possible, but never at the expense of doing my job properly.”

Mr Farron firmly refuted the criticism and explained that his expenditure, almost three quarters of which was made up of staff costs, was slightly higher than other MPs in Cumbria because he makes full use of the available budgets.

He said this allowed him to do a lot more casework than most other MPs and therefore help more of his constituents.

“My job is to serve local people and to work incredibly hard for them so I’m proud that we have one of the busiest constituency offices in the country and that means we are able to get things done to help local people,” he said.