A FORMER Renfrewshire MP claimed more than £50,000 in peers' expenses, despite not making a single speech. 

Baroness Irene Adams, who served as an MP for Paisley North from 1990 to 2005, was one of 110 peers to make no spoken or written contribution to the House of Lords between 2018-19. 

The Paisley woman charged the taxpayer £52,252 for her 120 appearances in the Lords.

Peers are currently paid the daily tax-free £313 for showing up to the House, though this will soon rise to £323. They are also eligible to claim travel expenses for themselves and their families.

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Adams is no stranger to criticism over her expenses in the Lords, as she took the title of second-most expensive peer in 2008/09 after claiming £66,896.

During that period she attended on 143 days and voted 318 times, but she also gave no spoken contribution to the House. 

In 2009 she received criticism after claiming £140 a month getting her office windows cleaned.

On her appointment to the House of Lords, colleagues praised her "powerful" maiden speech on the subject of the West Lothian Question. However, she has not been a prolific speaker since then.

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