THIS is Maria Miller’s new £1.2million property in Mapledurwell.

The Basingstoke MP bought the five-bedroom Tudor property in the scenic village near Old Basing with her solicitor husband Iain after selling their Wimbledon home, which was at the centre of the second home expenses row, for £1.47m.

The Wimbledon home, which Mrs Miller bought with her husband in 1996 for just £234,000, was sold on Valentine’s Day.

Mrs Miller declared the London property as her second home after she was elected as Basingstoke’s MP in 2005, allowing her to claim expenses for mortgage interest payments on the home.

But because her family lived there, questions were raised as to whether the Wimbledon property should have been declared as her second home.

The investigation into Mrs Miller’s expen-ses claims by Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Hudson in fact found that it appeared to be the MP’s main residence, rather than her rented Basingstoke home, and she said Mrs Miller “should have designated the London property rather than the Basingstoke one as her main home”, because her husband worked in London and it is where her three children attended school.

During the inquiry, Mrs Miller who became Culture Secretary in 2012, argued the case, saying her rented Basingstoke home should have been designated as her main home because it was where she spent most nights, and it was the centre of her family life.