House of Commons Speaker John Bercow claimed £2,000 for “hand-finished” beeswax candles and £210 for postcard-sized portrait prints of himself to be given out to admirers on expenses, it has emerged.

Mr Bercow also claimed thousands of pounds for wining and dining fellow MPs and foreign dignitaries and £290 to tune his grand piano.

A farewell bash last April for the outgoing deputy speaker Dawn Primarolo cost £2,057, and a farewell reception for tretiring MPs before the General Election saw a bill submitted for £1,700, while £3,000 was spent on a similar event for newly-elected members in July.

The details emerged in a full breakdown of spending charged to the Speaker's official House account over the last three-and-a-half years, which was obtained by the Press Association under freedom of information.

Mr Bercow's spokeswoman stressed that the total costs covered nearly four years of expenditure and included staff pay, office supplies and telephone calls.

She added: "The Speaker is committed to cutting costs wherever possible, and the overall expenditure of the Speaker's Office has fallen during his tenure." The beeswax candles for official dinners were bought in bulk, she added.