Mr McLetchie offered an apology for claiming expenses "in error"

The expenses were paid between July 1999 and September last year for 24 journeys, most of them by taxi.

Eleven of the claims were for trips to Mr McLetchie's dentist in Edinburgh, Holyrood officials said.

Mr McLetchie stepped down as Tory leader on 31 October after controversy surrounding the misclaimed expenses.

I take full responsibility for the errors and mistakes made in relation to these claims David McLetchie MSP Former Conservative leader

The publication of the details followed an exhaustive scrutiny of his claims going back six years.

They included �44.37 return mileage between Edinburgh and Perth in August 2001 for a party conference, the same sum for the same journey for a candidate policy conference in February 2003, and a �17.20 rail journey from Edinburgh to Glasgow for a party conference in March 2003.

The remaining 21 journeys were all taxi trips in Edinburgh.

Four trips made in 2002 and 2004, including one from Mr McLetchie's home to Edinburgh Airport, were described as "personal".

In a letter to Presiding Officer George Reid, Mr McLetchie said: "I take full responsibility for the errors and mistakes made in relation to these claims and express my sincere apologies both to the parliament and the wider Scottish public."

In response, the presiding officer said: "I am grateful for the considerable time that you have spent with parliamentary staff going through your travel expenses line by line."

He said officials had confirmed the �293.74 had now been repaid "and we are content that the matter rests there".

Mr Reid went on: "I recognise that the spate of enquiries about expenses over a long period of time has placed you under considerable strain.