Three Kent MPs voted against plans to reform their publicly-funded allowances, a move intended to restore public confidence in the system of expenses paid to politicians.

Labour backbenchers Derek Wyatt, who represents Sittingbourne and Sheppey and his colleague Gwyn Prosser, who represents Dover, were among those who rejected a package of reforms that would have seen the abolition of the controversial "John Lewis list" and stricter audit controls on their expenses.

Maidstone and Weald Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe was also among the MPs who voted against the changes.

She said: "The audit proposals were so cumbersome and disproportionate, they would have meant employing dozens more people at a cost to the public purse that we would never get back."

However, other Kent MPs did support the reforms, including Damian Green (Ashford) and Michael Fallon (Sevenoaks) and voted for the package.

Mr Green said opponents of the reforms had scored an own goal. "We are spending public money so we should be clear about it and have it audited independently," he said.

Mr Wyatt stressed he did not oppose greater openness and transparency but the reforms proposed were unworkable and would have been be impossible to police.

He suggested an alternative proposal for MPs to be contracted to provide a professionally audited record of their expenses each year that would be put in the public domain.

The reforms were proposed after a series of controversies about MPs’ allowances, sparked by the scandal surrounding the Conservative MP Derek Conway.