An MP used House of Commons letter headed paper to complain about not being able to purchase a pair of Star Wars shoes.

Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner MP, 35, vented her frustration over a pair of £195 R2-D2 heels when their makers launched the popular shoes last week.

The Irregular Choice Star Wars range saw fans queuing up outside shops to get shoes from the coveted collection, but the MP missed out.

The upset MP wrote a strongly-worded letter of complaint on House of Commons note-paper, saying: “I have only ever brought your shoes and I am loathed to do so again, or recommend your shoes to others. I am writing to let you know that treating customers in that way will only cost you more in the long term.”

Daniel Theophanides, 32, head of retail at Brighton-based Irregular Choice, said he was ‘personally very shocked by the complaint’, adding: “It was the wording of the complaint on House of Commons headed paper. One was addressed to head office and the other was sent to the shop in Brighton.

“The store manager saw it and that wasn’t nice, it was cruel. I wouldn’t dream of writing a letter of complaint on company headed paper.”

He insisted the MP mistakenly believed she was on a pre-order list but in fact the shoes were only available to people who turned up at their shops.

He said: “There was a queue outside every single one of our five stores in the UK on Carnaby Street and Camden in London and in Brighton, Leicester and Norwich.”

He said he called her to say he was ‘sorry she missed out’ but did not get a chance to offer her a pair he had sourced from China as she ‘hung up’.

The MP tweeted about the incident, writing: “Shame they sold my pair after I waited months on their list & been a customer 4 years. Poor customer service.”

She told the M.E.N. in a statement: “There appears to have been a breakdown in communications with the company, which is regrettable.”

She added: “My complaint was about the poor level of customer service and the attitude of a member of staff, who appears to be seeking headlines in tabloid newspapers rather than concentrating on providing a decent service to customers.”

Her office pointed out rules permitted ‘modest use of’ House of Commons stationery for personal correspondence.