STROUD MP David Drew has rejected claims from a constituent that he has breached parliamentary rules by misusing taxpayer funded postage.

The claim came in a letter to the Gazette from Mr G Belben of Berkeley, who said Mr Drew had used House of Commons postage-paid stationery to send out a circular letter about the proposed development of 300 homes on the edge of the town.

In his letter Mr Belben said: "I am disappointed that a relatively experienced MP such as Mr Drew should take advantage of the privileges of his office in such a way, especially close to a general election and with misuse of MP's expenses recently in the media spotlight."

He added that the matter would be reported to the Serjeant-at-Arms' Office at Westminster.

However, Mr Drew told the Gazette that he had done nothing wrong and that he was merely ensuring that the residents of Berkeley knew what was going on.

He said: "I am not going to apologise for trying to keep people in Berkeley informed and I find it somewhat disappointing that he Mr Belben has not come to me with the problem first."

Mr Drew explained that he had met the parties involved in the proposed housing development at Berkeley and that he has received a great deal of correspondence on the subject, which is why he had sent out the letter.

"I send out letters like this so that people always know where I stand," he added.

"It was not a politically motivated letter, so if this complaint is party political I find it desperately sad."