𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A Liberal Democrat MP forced taxpayers to buy her £123 luxury ear defenders despite earning more than £93,000 a year. Rachel Gilmour put the luxury item, branded as providing “superior comfort” because she “regularly visits high noise environments” in her constituency of Tiverton and Minehead, it was claimed.

That’s despite alternative options being available from just £5. The high-end item, which was purchased from a Somerset-based company, requires a custom mould of the wearer’s ear to be submitted for a “snug” fit, and takes nearly four working weeks to make. Popular trades retailer Screwfix, which has a branch in Tiverton, sells a range of ear defenders, with the cheapest starting at just £5.

Critics have questioned if the purchase was intended to block out the “growing noise from constituents who are tired of her questionable expense claims” after the parliamentarian was previously stung for trying to use taxpayers’ cash on everything from cider to vegan lunch wraps.

James Wright, a farmer in Exmoor and local Conservative campaigner, told the Express: “Rachel says she takes health and safety ‘incredibly seriously.’ It’s just a shame that the same level of seriousness didn’t extend to her driving licence or her expense claims for cider and chips.”

It comes as party bosses were forced to defend the purchase, with a spokesman telling the Express that the MP had been “advised to follow the on-site protocol of wearing ear defenders” when visiting local construction sites and power plants.

Ms Gilmour previously made headlines last year after she reportedly subjected staff at the Hinkley Point C power plant to a “swear-filled outburst” when she was found to have been driving without a valid licence.

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While she denies the claims, local media at the time spoke to a security guard at the site who claimed she had used a “highly offensive term” to describe them.

At the time, a source told the Express that she had gone on an “astonishing” tirade and and called the guard an “obnoxious t***”.

She went on to try to claim a boozy lunch, submitting an expenses claim for a pub meal that included a half-pint of cider.

The claim was rejected by the parliamentary authorities.

Ms Gilmour was even forced to apologise for employing her own son in her taxpayer-funded office.

Speaking at the time, after referring herself to the watchdog, she described the move as an “honest mistake”.

MPs recently voted to give themselves another pay rise, with their annual earnings set to rise to £110,000 by the end of the decade.