Bloated MPs have chucked away nearly 1,000 tonnes of food in just five years, shock figures have revealed.

The amount gone to waste would have provided enough for almost 2.4 million meals, according to experts.

Politicians have spearheaded the battle to ease the amount of groceries going to waste.

But official stats show the House of Commons discarded 282,133kg - 282 metric tonnes - of taxpayer-subsidised food in 2017/18.

The amount junked in just one year could have provided 671,442 meals.

And in the five years for which figures were given, it could have catered for nearly 2.4 million meals.

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The bulging mountain of good food sent to waste in 2017/18 was more than double the amount - 130,384kg - wasted just two years earlier in 2015/16.

Food cooked in the Commons is sold in Westminster’s cafes and canteens to MPs, peers, staff, journalists and visitors.

The shameful total of food dumped is also believed to include excess canapes produced for glittering receptions in luxury rooms overlooking the River Thames.

According to calculations by the anti-food waste charity FareShare, one tonne of wasted food could provide 2,381 meals.

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Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, who uncovered the figures using written parliamentary questions, called for the food to be distributed to the hungry and poor.

She said: “It is damning that there has been a 116% increase in food waste from the House of Commons in just three years, as food banks struggle to meet demand and homeless people beg for money for food outside Parliament’s own doors and in town centres across the country as the homelessness crisis worsens.

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(Image: Getty)

“The Commons authorities really must make sure that good surplus food is donated to charities and as much as possible of the rest is composted.”

A Commons spokeswoman said: “The Commons catering outlets serve tens of thousands of customers annually and our food waste from prepared dishes is well below the national average for the catering industry.

“Food waste segregated from catering areas is sent to an anaerobic digestion facility to produce both ‘biofertiliser’ and methane gas for energy generation.

"The annual increases reflect the greater use of food waste bins across the parliamentary estate as well as the introduction of more sustainable food waste practices such as the removal of macerators in catering areas."

Anti-waste charity Wrap says 270,000 tonnes of the 1.9 million tonnes of food wasted by the food industry every year in the UK is still edible.

Yet the Mirror told last month how Britain’s biggest food bank operator handed out nearly 12 million meals to hungry families in the past year.

The record number of parcels distributed to hard-up households was a shocking 13% rise on the previous 12 months, the Trussell Trust revealed.

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The charity’s volunteers gave out 1,332,952 three day emergency food supplies between April 1, 2017 and March 31 this year.

Each contained enough for three meals a day, meaning a total of 11,996,568 were provided.

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Earlier this year MPs called for unused Army rations could be handed to the homeless amid a huge surge in food thrown away by soldiers.

More than 14,000 packs were chucked away in just 12 months - the biggest number wasted in at least the past four years.

Official figures showed 14,273 operational ration packs were discarded in 2016-17 compared with just 110 in 2013-14.