MONTHLY mortgage interest claims on Billericay MP John Baron’s second home leaped up by 40 per cent in one financial year.

In April 2004, his monthly claim was £860, but by October it had increased to £1,205.

Mr Baron says he has an interest-only tracker mortgage, linked to interest rates, which the Echo understands is with First Direct.

However, the Bank of England base interest rates did not increase sharply during that period, remaining between 4 and 4.75 per cent.

In his April/May claim that year, he asked for £200 under an other expenses category for “mortgages services”. It is not clear from what is published online what this covered.

In his latest published claims for 2007/08, the monthly level rose to £1,400.

There are no receipts showing mortgage interest on the Parliament website, although Mr Baron insists everything has been receipted.

His constituency home in Bramble Tye, Noak Bridge, was bought for £153,500 with wife Thalia before he was elected in 2000.

If bought with a 100 per cent mortgage at an interest rate of 5 per cent, monthly repayments would come in at around £640 for a £153,500 loan.

He also claimed more than £10,200 – an average of £212 a month – for food at the second home, which Tory sources claim he rarely stays at.

Mr Baron’s main home is in London where he is based most of the week.

MPs do not have to submit receipts for monthly food claims of up to £400 a month. His biggest claim for any one month was November 2005, when the sum £495 was entered then reduced to £400.

Mr Baron has claimed £4,173 – an average of £86 a month – under a category called service/maintenance. However it is unclear what this cash was for.

He also spent more than £4,500 on repairs and gardening including, in December 2005, £580 to repair vandalised fencing and apply Ronseal and anti-climb paint. In 2004, Mr Baron spent £77 on a lawnmower, paid £745 for ground work between August and September, and in October, paid a gardener £1,142, but it is unclear what for as most of the receipt has been obscured.

He claimed nothing for cleaning.

Another big claim was £969 on window blinds, in July 2004.

* MR Baron refused to discuss the latest details of his expense claims with the Echo because he says our coverage over the issue is biased.

Although the Echo has given Mr Baron every opportunity to comment, he said he was not willing to answer questions about any of them, but he was happy for constituents to call him directly over the issue, or refer to his website.

He would not be drawn on why the monthly mortgage payments had risen so sharply.

Mr Baron’s party leader, David Cameron, has urged all Tories to hold open meetings with constituents over the expenses furore, something he has yet to do.

However, he has written to some constituents explaining he does not claim for mobile phones or petty cash. He has previously told the Echo his expenses are often higher than other MPs’ because he has one of the largest constituencies.