Shahid Malik hit by new expenses row over claims for a second office

Communities minister Shahid Malik today faced more questions over his expenses a day after returning to government.

The reinstated minister failed to fully clarify the details of a reported claim of at least £6,500 for a second office alongside his taxpayer-funded constituency base.

The Dewsbury MP quit as justice minister last month while an inquiry examined claims that he rented his three-bedroom constituency home at less than £100 a week.

Mr Malik was cleared of breaching the ministerial code but Gordon Brown has refused to publish the report.

He claimed up to £6,000-a-year for his office, the Daily Telegraph reported, but it also claimed he billed the taxpayer £200 a month for three years - a sum of at least £6,500.

Mr Malik said: "This is a claim for office space that I used for constituency business, the details of which were logged."