EX-Bolton West MP Julie Hilling has been named as one of 26 current and former MPs to have debts of up to £500 written off after failing to pay them but says she is "utterly bemused" by the news.

Ms Hilling, who lost her seat to Conservative Chris Green at May’s election, was among the list of names released by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority for failing to pay a debt of £75.30, racked up between 2014 and 2015.

The former Labour MP said the fee listed was for a "legitimate expense" for a train journey from the Bolton West constituency to Parliament in November last year.

She said: "It is crackers, I paid for the journey on the travel card and submitted a receipt and actually say it on the IPSA system.

"I am really angry with IPSA because I am actually still negotiating with them over payments that I believe I am still owed, but this was a legitimate MPs expense and I have no clue why they have put it down as a debt written off."

Miss Hilling's apparent debt is among the smaller sums of those named — with fellow ex-Labour MP for Joe Benton, who represented Bootle until May, having the highest fee of £309.15 written off.

The list also includes two government ministers, Tobias Ellwood and Edward Timpson, who have been told to pay their debts back by Prime Minister David Cameron.

The total amount written off by IPSA over the 12 month period was £2,105.43.

The debts written off range from a few pounds to hundreds.

Much of the spending was on official credit cards that are automatically paid off by Ipsa before checks on whether they are allowable.

MS Hilling claimed the largest amount of expenses of the three Bolton MPs in power in 2014/15 with an overall figure of £185,492.01.

Behind her was Bolton North East MP David Crausby, who claimed £170,189.61 and then Yasmin Qureshi, MP for Bolton South East, with a claim of £166,434.82.