MAIDSTONE and Weald MP Ann Widdecombe emerges as one of Westminster’s biggest earners from outside interests, it has emerged.

The former Home Office minister earned between £200,000 and £240,000 from journalism, book writing, lectures and appearances in a range of television programmes, according to the latest register of MPs’ interests just pubished.

The MP reveals she was paid an £100,000 advance for her next two novels from publishers Weidenfeld and Nicholson. Miss Widdecombe has written a series of well-received books in recent years since standing down from frontline politics.

She also earned between £25,000 and £30,000 for her role as a roving agony aunt in a recent BBC2 series, Ann Widdecome To The Rescue, while a column in the Daily Express added to her outside income to the tune of £35,000 to £40,000. Her fee for an appearance in the TV series “Grumpy Old Women” was up to £5,000.

Meanwhile, a theatre speaking tour around the country added between £25,000 and £30,000 to her outside earnings.

Details of entries made by other Kent MPs reveal rather more modest outside earnings.

Conservative leader and Folkestone and Hythe MP Michael Howard was given a Christmas hamper by the Sultan of Brunei and as a loyal Liverpool fan, would no doubt have enjoyed watching his team beat Chelsea in the Champions League match in April, courtesy of tickets provided by Sky television. He also enjoyed a trip to the Monaco Grand Prix in May, with his flights, hotel and meals paid for by the press agency Reuters.

Faversham and Mid Kent Conservative MP Hugh Robertson travelled to India as part of the Lords and Commons Cricket Club in January. He paid for his own flights and some of his accomodation but other costs were met by the consultancy firm KPMG.

Jonathan Shaw, the Labour MP for Chatham and Aylesford has the distinction of being the only MP in Kent to have no outside interests.

Other MPs disclose how their outside interests have taken them as far afield as Russia, Korea and Moldova. Tonbridge and Malling MP Sir John Stanley (Con) travelled to Korea for a four-day annual meeting of the UK-Korea Forum, paid for by the forum while Medway Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews was invited to Moscow to present papers on judicial independence to the Moscow School of Politics.

Damian Green’s three-day visit to Moldova in January, meanwhile, was paid for by the John Smith Memorial Trust.