A former MP has made more than £100,000 after selling her taxpayer-funded home.
Vera Baird was defeated in last year's general election, losing her Labour seat for Redcar to Lib Dem Ian Swales.
She bought her four-bedroomed detached home in her former constituency in 2001 for £113,000.
As it was registered as her second home, she was able to claim mortgage interest and refurbishment costs on expenses.
It has now been revealed that she sold the property earlier this year for £265,000.
Ms Baird could make a total of £109,440 after paying capital gains tax, but said she would give some of the money to charities 'privately'.
Last year, when she put the home on the market, Ms Baird said she would "behave accordingly and morally and properly" when the property was sold.
The old rules have been heavily criticised by politicians including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
Under new rules on parliamentary expenses, which come into force in August next year, serving MPs would have to give the money back to the taxpayer, but under the existing system Ms Baird is within her rights to keep the money.
Nick Clegg sold his constituency home in Sheffield in April, making a profit of £40,000. But he chose to return the money to the House of Commons.
The Liberal Democrat leader said at the time: "It's not something required of me.
'The expenses scandals made people very, very angry.
'At the time I said MPs should get out of the property game, which is happening, which I pushed for.'
Departing MPs also received 'golden goodbyes' worth tens of thousands of pounds when they left parliament.
Ms Baird's resettlement payment came to an estimated £32,383.
If Ms Baird keeps the payment and the profit made on her house at Oak Road, Redcar, she will have gained a total of around £141,823 by losing her job as MP.
Ms Baird is currently entitled to keep the profits from the home sale because the new rules will not apply to her as she stopped being an MP before the system changed.
When contacted to ask if she planned to return the profits from the sale to the taxpayer, she said 'thank you' and hung up.
A spokesman for the Taxpayers' Alliance said: 'After the expenses scandal, politicians talked of a new age and cleaner politics. Vera Baird hasn't broken the rules but taxpayers might be angry that she's been able to make a quick buck under the old expenses system.'
Ms Baird suffered a shock defeat at last year's polls when she lost her seat to Lib Dem Ian Swales.
The QC had previously been embroiled in the long-running MPs' expenses scandal, when it emerged that she had tried to claim for Christmas decorations for her Redcar Home. The claim was refused by the Commons fees office.
Ms Baird's total second home claims were £17,633 in 2004-05, £19,485 in 2005-6, £19,191 in 2006-07 and £19,728 in 2007-08.
The new rule will mean MPs can only rent second properties, and cannot claim mortgage interest payments and later keep the profits from any increase in the home's value.
Ms Baird, who earned £125,000 a year as solicitor general, said: 'I sold the house in February but the amount of profit reported is wrong as it disregards a number of items.
'However there was some gain and I told newspapers many months ago that I would deal appropriately with moneys if that occurred.
'I have already paid some contributions to good causes and may do more but consistent with how I have approached charitable and other donations throughout my life, I will do so privately.'
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