Eric Joyce said the cost of travel was partly behind his high claim

Labour MP for Falkirk, Eric Joyce, claimed a total of �174,811 last year, which he largely put down to travelling between London and his constituency.

Mr Joyce said he would now have to review the number of mid-week meetings he travelled north to attend, but said his constituents took priority.

The MP's claims for last year included �44,985 in travel costs.

As well as that, Mr Joyce claimed �78,615 in staffing costs, �25,005 for running his office and �21,629 for staying away from his main home.

In total, MPs claimed nearly �87m in expenses and allowances last year - �5m more than last time, according to figures released by the House of Commons.

I don't always know what I'll be doing that far in advance and its not always possible to get cheap flights Eric Joyce

The increase was partly put down to the winding up costs of MPs who retired or lost their seats at the last general election.

But Mr Joyce said Westminster parliamentarians north of the border were also in a different boat to their southern colleagues.

"Expenses for Scottish MPs are different to other MPs, because of the geography and distance," he said.

"For example, London MPs can go home (from Westminster) during the day or see constituents, but I'm not able to do that so I have to travel up and down mid-week."

Mr Joyce, who described his office costs as "relatively low", said his claims were legitimate.

But he conceded that they were not sustainable and has promised to apply greater cost control measures to his travelling.

"I don't always know what I'll be doing that far in advance and it's not always possible to get cheap flights at short notice," he said.