Disgraced Lord Hanningfield will find out next week whether he will be suspended from the House of Lords over his parliamentary expenses.

Reporters from a national newspaper watched the former Essex County Council leader, who was jailed for fraud three years ago, clock in and out of the House of Lords 19 times.

On 11 of those occasions, the peer was reported to have spent less than 40 minutes before heading home, allowing him to claim a £300 daily allowance.

The allegations have since been considered by the House of Lords privileges and conduct committee, which could suspend him from Parliament until next year’s general election.

A verdict is due next week.

After Tuesday's hearing, Lord Hanningfield told the BBC it did not matter whether he attended for 10 minutes or 10 hours a day as he was a peer all the time.

He described the £300 allowance as a “de facto salary”.

The former Tory leader of County Hall was jailed for nine months in 2011 for falsely claiming expenses in separate allegations.

Lord Hanningfield lost the Tory whip at the Lords in 2010.