DUP MP Ian Paisley's credit card stopped by Commons watchdog

A DUP MP's official credit card has been temporarily suspended over a £6,000 debt.

Ian Paisley was one of 18 MPs to have a stop put on their cards by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa)

The North Antrim MP owed a total of £13,833.38 on 29 June, according to the watchdog, but his card was blocked when the bill was at £6,195.94.

A spokesman for Mr Paisley said it "was a result of unreconciled invoices".

"The matter has been addressed with Ipsa earlier this week," he added.

The details were disclosed in response to a freedom of information request by the Press Association.

Ipsa issues MPs with credit cards for to pay for items such as travel, accommodation and stationery.

The politicians then have to prove the spending was genuine by the end of each month, or they build up debts to the watchdog.

Since the beginning of this year, the cards of 18 MPs had been temporarily suspended because they have not settled outstanding sums.

The debts are then recouped by not paying out valid claims filed by the politicians.

A spokesman for Ipsa said it did not discuss individual cases.

When asked if Mr Paisley's card was still suspended the spokesman said: "For those MPs who owe a large amount of money, the card would normally be suspended until the money owed had been cleared."

He added that in general for Northern Ireland MPs, the expenses bill would tend to be higher because of the travel costs involved for them and their staff.