A LIVERPOOL MP last night insisted she acted within the rules after it emerged she used £3,500 of taxpayers’ money to refurbish her bathroom.

Garston MP and junior justice minister Maria Eagle spoke out after becoming the latest parliamentarian to be embroiled in the ongoing expenses row.

She confirmed to the Daily Post revelations made in a national Sunday newspaper that she claimed thousands of pounds for her second home - a flat she owns in Mossley Hill.

The MP spent a reported £7,140 renovating its bathroom, with the revamp said to include a new suite, shower, slate floor tiles and removal of a wall.

She received £3,500 in expenses to help cover the cost after being told she could not claim the full amount.

That was because the rules stated MPs cannot be reimbursed for work which counts as an improvement to the property.

Just four months after sprucing up her bathroom, she switched her second home designation to a flat with a higher mortgage in Camberwell, London.

Flipping the home reportedly saw her claim for mortgage interest payments increase from £250 to £739.22.

Exposing the expenses claims, the Sunday broadsheet made the point that Ms Eagle was among MPs who supported a bill seeking to make Parliament exempt from Freedom of Information rules, meaning MPs’ individual expenses claims would not be discovered.

But last night, a defiant Ms Eagle insisted she acted within the rules and within “the spirit” of them.

She told the Daily Post: “Liverpool has always been my main home.

“I grew up in Merseyside and lived there before my election to Parliament in 1997.

“I therefore designated my London home as my second home.

“When I became a minister in 2001, I was required to designate my London home as my main home and did so.”