Commons Speaker John Bercow spent thousands of pounds on hospitality for fellow MPS, as well as a string of other expenses including nearly £2,000 worth of beeswax candles.

Mr Bercow's office also spent more than £2,000 on a "standing down" dinner for his former deputy, and £1,954 for a meal with his Australian counterpart.

Among a range of other purchases paid for with the public purse were hundreds of postcard-sized photographs of himself that are "sent out on request".

The details of spending on the Speaker's official House account over the last three-and-a-half years were made public following a freedom of information request by the Press Association.

The Commons said information prior to April 2012 could not be provided because it had been destroyed "in accordance with the parliamentary records disposal policy".

The Speaker's spending: A breakdown

£2,200 the bill for one Panel of Chairs dinner in 2010

The Speaker's Office regularly used public money to cover the cost of dinners for the Panel of Chairs, a group of around 40 MPs appointed by Mr Bercow and paid up to £15,000 per year to help him with his parliamentary duties.

In June 2014, the taxpayer was billed £476 for drinks at the event,- including 10 bottles of sparkling Chardonnay, seven bottles of Sauvignon Blanc, 11 bottles of Merlot and a £52.97 tip.

£2,057 spent on a 2015 "standing down" dinner for then deputy speaker Dawn Primarolo

Dawn Primarolo, who was paid £36,000 for her role as deputy speaker on top of her salary as an MP, was given a dedicated dinner to send her off.

She was offered a peerage shortly afterward and now sits in the Lords.

A spokeswoman said: "Baroness Primarolo was the Second Deputy Speaker for the entirety of the 2010-15 parliament, a minister for 13 years and the dinner was held in her honour on the occasion of her retirement."

£1,947 the cost of beeswax candles for the Speaker's Office

Two orders for the "beeswax hand-finished candles" came in at close to £2,000.

They were used for official dinners in the State Rooms and bought in bulk, the spokeswoman said.

£1,954 the cost of a dinner in honour of the Australian speaker

A number of dinners with foreign dignitaries regularly ran over £1,000 pounds, with the most expensive appearing to be one with the Australian speaker in May 2014.

Among others were a £1,521.37 lunch with the Romanian speaker in December 2012 and a £1,444.74 lunch with the Slovenian speaker.

A lunch with the Canadian speaker in February last year came in much lower at £286.01, but a meal with the Lithuanian speaker in the same month cost £1,600.82.

£216 the cost of tuning the Speaker's grand piano

Since 2012, the bill for tuning the grand piano in the Speaker's House has cost £286.

The spokesweoman said the piano was kept in the State Rooms and was available for MPs "to use open request".

£210 spent on miniature portrait photographs of Mr Bercow

Official portrait photographs of the Speaker and senior officials were taken at the State Opening of Parliament in November 2014, at a cost of £307.

In December, there was a £210 order of "350 6x4 presentation portrait prints", which the Commons spokeswoman said referred to "postcard-sized prints of the official photograph of the Speaker which are sent out on request."

Spending 'down 19.4% since 2009'

A spokeswoman said spending by the Speaker's Office had fallen to £504,000 per year - down 19.4% since Mr Bercow took on the role in 2009, adding that he was "committed" to reducing costs where possible.

The Speaker's official spending is not subject to the same rules as other MPs, who are banned from claiming meals or alcohol on expenses.

Dia Chakravarty, political director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said it was welcome that Mr Bercow had "evidently cut expenditure", adding that "no one would begrudge footing the bill for the official functions which the Commons Speaker would reasonably be expected to host".

However, she added that the fact some records had been destroyed - and the need to use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the data - would "not instil confidence in the public that the Speaker's Office is run with a culture of transparency and openness".