Parliament’s spending watchdog tried to prevent the public being told that 377 MPs, including nine Cabinet ministers and Jeremy Corbyn, have had their official credit cards suspended for breaking the rules on expenses.

Exactly 10 years after The Telegraph’s original investigation into MPs’ expenses, the body set up to ensure greater transparency in the wake of the scandal has been accused of trying to prevent openness, rather than ensuring it.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority tried to stop disclosure of MPs’ use of Parliamentary credit cards on the grounds it would have a “chilling effect” on its relationship with MPs and reduce public confidence in the regulatory system.

But a former High Court judge reversed the decision, saying that the risk of “embarrassing” MPs was no reason to keep the information secret.

The Telegraph has established that the rules established in the wake of the MPs’ expenses scandal are being routinely broken by politicians who still show a “lax and casual” attitude to the way they account for taxpayers’ money.

The energy minister Claire Perry, who attends Cabinet, admitted wrongly using her Parliamentary credit card to pay for her Amazon Prime subscription.