DISGRACED MP Derek Conway has been suspended from Parliament for 10 days following revelations about payments he made to his family.

The MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup was suspended from the House of Commons today and ordered to pay back £13,161 of taxpayers money that he had given his son through salary and bonuses.

Mr Conway had already announced he would stand down at the next general election after Conservative leader David Cameron excluded him from the Tory party.

The MP’s career imploded when a committee of MPs ordered him to apologise for his improper use of public funds.

It emerged the 54-year-old’s son, Freddie, was a full-time student while working for his father, and was paid around £40,000 over three years.

There have also been calls for an investigation into his older son Henry’s employment in similar circumstances.

The Commons Standards and Privileges Committee said the MP should be forced to pay back up to £13,161. MPs are allowances from public funds to pay their staff and are allowed to employ family members to work for them.

Mr Conway has apologised to the House and to his constituents for his “administrative shortcomings and the misjudgements”. He said: “In apologising to the House, I would also like to apologise to my constituents and to the Old Bexley and Sidcup Conservative Association, which has been so very supportive to me and my family throughout a very difficult period.”

A statement from them said: "The Old Bexley & Sidcup Conservative Association has been surprised and saddened at the events of the last few days. In the light of the circumstances the decision made by Derek Conway to stand down is the right and honorable one and accepted by the association.

“The process of choosing the Constituency’s new Conservative Candidate will follow the constitution of the Conservative Party. All procedures will be adhered to in due course.”

Mr Conway will remain an MP until the next election.