YEOVIL MP David Laws has apologised following a national newspaper article which claimed he used taxpayers’ money to rent rooms at properties owned by his partner.

Mr Laws has agreed to pay back the money, which the Daily Telegraph claims totalled £40,000.

Mr Laws said he had never knowingly breached any Parliamentary rules on expenses.

He said he been motivated not by profit, but by a desire to protect his privacy and not reveal his sexuality.

In a statement, Mr Laws said he had kept details of his relationship with James Lundie, which began in 2001, secret from family and friends.

He said: "I claimed back the costs of sharing a home in Kennington with James from 2001 to June 2007.

"In June 2007 James bought a new home in London and I continued to claim back my share of the costs.

"At no point did I consider myself to be in breach of the rules.”

Mr Laws added: "James and I are intensely private people.

“We made the decision to keep our relationship private and believed that was our right.

"Clearly that cannot now remain the case.

"My motivation throughout has not been to maximise profit but to simply protect our privacy and my wish not to reveal my sexuality.

"However, I regret this situation deeply, accept that I should not have claimed my expenses in this way and apologise fully.”

Prime Minister David Cameron said he agreed with Mr Laws’ decision to refer himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner