TORY county council leader Lord Hanningfield cost the taxpayer £5,919 in travel expenses even though he has a chauffeur to take him to meetings and functions in Essex.

The Tory peer, whose House of Lords expenses are being investigated by Scotland Yard, insisted he did not receive any money from the county council apart from his allowances as leader and councillor.

Lord Hanningfield said he does not claim back money for mileage, food or accommodation from the council and had become poorer since becoming its leader.

He denied ever receiving a penny of the £5,919 marked under his travel allowance or the £4,668 under his fares, subsistence and accommodation allowance.

He said the money related to travel or trips booked directly by the council, but was not money he had billed the council for.

Lord Hanningfield, who represents Stock on the county council, said: “I don’t put any claims in.

“None of that money has come to me.

“The county council organises it all.

“That money is allocated to my allowance when I go on trips or have to take guests on council visits.

“I don’t claim taxi fares and I don’t claim mileage on my car, even though I use my car most of the time going to Chelmsford.”

Despite the allowance he receives from the council, the former livestock farmer said he had become poorer by swapping his old job for leadership of the county.

He said: “I’m thousands and thousands of pounds out of pocket from what I did before.

“Over the past ten years I have been £10,000 a year out of pocket.

“I’m much poorer now than when I started.”

Last week Lord Hanningfield firmly denied accusations he falsified expenses after he was revealed as one of three peers being investigated by the Metropolitan Police, over complaints about abuse of the House of Lords expenses system.

Between April 2007 and March 2008, Lord Hanningfield claimed £27,139 for staying in London while attending the House of Lords over 107 days.