Lord Irvine admitted using government stationery, postage and staff to send the invitations to the function at London's Garrick club.

Christine Stewart reports: "Claims continue that Irvine is arrogant and pompous"

The lord chancellor provoked outrage last year when he spent �650,000 upgrading his official residence.

His spokesman said the latest incident was "a simple oversight".

The Conservatives dismissed this defence, accusing Lord Irvine - the highest-paid Cabinet member and a long-time friend of Prime Minister Tony Blair - of "arrogance".

They seized on the request in the invitations to reply to the lord chancellor's diary secretary, Paul Brigland. It further says Mr Brigland will telephone nearer the time to check if the recipient intends to come, as well as giving his House of Lords contact number.

The lord chancellor plans to re-pay the postage cost for the invites

This appears to breach rules blocking ministers from using civil servants to carry out their private duties.

But Lord Irvine's spokesman suggested noting the names of those who had accepted and declined to attend was part of the diary secretary's job.

"That's all part of organising the lord chancellor's diary," he said.

As a peer, Lord Irvine would have been entitled to use House of Commons headed notepaper to send out his invitations.

His spokesman the posatge costs would now be re-paid by the lord chancellor.

The invitations related to party on 24 March related to the Fine Art Society.

Lord Irvine's love of art is well known. But his extensive and expensive redecoration of his Westminster residence soon after he took office landed him in his biggest political storm.

The Audit Commission has started an inquiry to determine whether the �650,000 of public money was well spent.

It covered items such as hand-crafted wallpaper at �30 a roll, a bed for �20,000 and a �3,000 antique lavatory.

Hauled before the Public Accounts Committee, Lord Irvine justified his high spending as a "noble cause" for which "future generations will be grateful".

He went on to enrage the DIY industry, by adding: "You are talking about quality materials which are capable of lasting for 60 or 70 years.