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A member of Jeremy Corbyn's top team has called for the the rules governing MPs expenses to be scrapped, along with the watchdog that oversees them.

Paul Flynn, who is Shadow Welsh Secretary, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and a close ally of Mr Corbyn, said MPs should be awarded a flat top up payment instead of having to file receipts for their expenses.

He said the process of claiming back receipts was an "unnecessary chore".

Currently MPs can claim back expenses for certain costs, including travel and rent if they represent a constituency outside London.

But they have to submit receipts to prove their outgoings to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which was introduced in response to the MPs expenses scandal in 2010.

But in an email to Labour MPs, seen by the Mirror, Mr Flynn said the process of "hours of tedious frustrating trawling through a bureaucratic morass of rules" is a waste of MPs time.

And he said attempts to reform the process would be "polishing dung."

He suggests the entire system of MPs expenses should be replaced with an automatic payment to every MP, based on average expenses and distance from Westminster.

One astonished Labour MP said: "How could anyone think the way to stop MPs breaking the rules is to abolish the rules?

"Jeremy Corbyn’s top team are completely detached from reality. They don’t begin to understand and couldn’t care less what the public think."

A Shadow Leader of the House, policy on MPs expenses is Mr Flynn's responsibility, but a Labour Party spokesperson said: "What Paul Flynn has suggested is not Labour Party Policy."

Lib Dem MP Tom Brake said: “With this kind of cloudy thinking on political transparency we would call for Paul Flynn to resign from the Shadow Cabinet but that’s not as big a thing as it used to be.”

In 2014-15, the average annual expense claim was more than £161,000.

In total MPs claimed almost £106m in expenses for the same year.

Under the current system, MPs found claiming for spending they're not entitled to can be ordered to pay it back.

And MPs caught not following the rules properly can be forced to make humiliating public apologies to the House of Commons.

In extreme cases, MPs who have made fraudulent expenses claims have been jailed.

How much did MPs claim on expenses in 2014-15? £161m Total £161,000 Average £169,054 Paul Flynn IPSA

In the email, Mr Flynn suggested his replacement system would "be acceptable even if it meant reduction in the amounts MPs receive because of the liberation from the tentacles of tedious bureaucracy."

"MPs would gain time," he wrote. "Parliament's reputation would be protected and IPSA's annual running costs in excess of £6 million would disappear."

Jeremy Corbyn is frequently among the lowest claiming MPs in Westminster, but still claimed £159,281.35, including staff costs for 2014-15.

As MP for Islington North, he does not claim expenses for accommodation or travel.

Mr Flynn, whose constituency is in Newport, claimed ££169,053.88 for the same year.