All of a Twitter: Now Russell Brand claims MPs are stirring up Sachs row to distract from the scandal over their expenses

Russell Brand today claimed MPs were deliberately stirring up the row over the Andrew Sachs affair to distract from the growing concern about their expense claims.

The comedian joked that that he would pay the £150,000 fine levied against the BBC by Ofcom by putting it on his expense account.

Clearly angry at senior ministers who say he and Jonathan Ross should pay the money themselves, he then adds that he can't do that because he is not a 'corrupt MP'.

He put the message on his Twitter blog just hours after trying to embroil Jack Straw and his son into the row after the Justice Secretary said the two should pay up.

His latest posting, which appeared this morning, refers to the increasing scandal over ministers' claims for their second homes and the new 'three homes' row.

Russell Brand, outside his London home, retaliated by saying Jack Straw should be fined over the Iraq war after the Justice Secretary joined calls for him and Jonathan Ross to pay the £150,000 fine for the Andrew Sachs affair

It was revealed this weekend that Geoff Hoon claimed the second home allowance on a property he rented out while living in a free grace-and-favour apartment.

Since then, it has emerged Chancellor Alistair Darling and Housing Minister Margaret Beckett have been doing the same - which is not against Parliamentary rules.

Brand, 33, wrote: 'I have decided to pay the ofcom fine. I'll put it on my expense account. Oh no, I don't have one because I'm a citizen not a corrupt MP.'

Earlier, he wrote: 'Shamed MPs are exploiting us and misusing their expense accounts. They want us to be distracted from this. I'm going to write about it now.'

Yesterday, Brand had posted a blog declaring that Mr Straw should be fined for his part in agreeing to send troops to Iraq in 2003 when he was Foreign Secretary.

'I demand Jack Straw pays the £7billion he squandered on the Iraq war that we didn't want,' he said.

He also referred to the fact that Mr Straw's son, William, was given a police caution for trying to sell cannabis to an undercover reporter in 1997 when he was a 17-year-old schoolboy.

Brand added: 'No wonder his son has to toke himself to sleep.'

'Toke' is a slang word for smoking and is often used to refer to taking cannabis.

William Straw

Brand also referred to the fact Straw's son William was given a police caution for trying to sell cannabis to an undercover reporter in 1997 aged 17, in his blog

The comedian, who was spotted outside his London home at the weekend in a dressing gown, also attacked Ofcom, suggesting executives at the media regulator would use the £150,000 fine to buy pornography.

He wrote: 'What do "Ofcom" do with all that money? What is their mandate? I think they spend it all on porn. As head of "Ofporn" I fine them £150,000.'

A spokesman for Ofcom declined to comment on his lewd suggestions.

Cash raised by the BBC fine goes to the Paymaster General in the Treasury.

Brand resigned from Radio 2 last year in the furore over the obscene comments he and Ross left on Mr Sachs's answerphone, which were then broadcast on Brand's show.

Russell Brand's Twitter entry in which he attacks Jack Straw for wasting money on Iraq

Brand's Twitter entry in which he attacks Straw for wasting money on Iraq

They included crude and humiliating comments about Mr Sachs's granddaughter Georgina Baillie. Ross was suspended without pay for three months.

Despite apologising both to the 78-yearold Fawlty Towers star and Miss Baillie, Brand was quick to capitalise on his notoriety, using the scandal as material for his recent stand-up tour.

During the shows, he walked on stage to a montage of headlines on a giant screen before reeling off a series of jokes about the furore.

Yesterday Mr Straw's spokesman responded to Brand's latest outburst by saying: 'Jack would not want to grace that with a comment.'

Ross

No sign of pressure: Jonathan Ross and Brand fool around with friends, including Ross's red-haired wife Jane Goldman and the comedian David Walliams, seated left, in a picture posted on Ross's Twitter web page

Fellow MPs, however, had plenty to say. 'The comments are outrageous and just show Brand has learnt nothing from the scandal,' said Tory MP Ann Widdecombe.

Philip Davies, who sits on the culture, media and sport select committee, added: 'It's just typical of this so-called comedian.

'He misjudged what people found funny last time, and he is no doubt trying his best to be humorous again. These comments show he just isn't.'

There has been a public and political outcry over the fact that the BBC - and therefore licence-fee payers - will have to pay the fine imposed by Ofcom.

Mr Straw had said: 'It is wrong that licence-fee payers will have to pick up the bill for this. It is ridiculous that the penalty will be paid by the public.' 

Andrew Sachs
Georgina Baillie

Target: Andrew Sachs was the recipient of Ross and Brand's lewd phone calls about his granddaughter Georgina Baillie

Senior ministers including Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell joined the growing chorus calling for Brand and Ross to stump up instead. It would take Ross, who earns £6million a year, only two weeks to earn £150,000.

The answerphone incident, which attracted 45,000 complaints from the public, brought the BBC into disrepute and two Radio 2 executives, including controller Lesley Douglas, had to resign.

After months of investigation, Ofcom fined the BBC £150,000 on Friday, condemning the ' gratuitously offensive, humiliating and demeaning' messages' left for Mr Sachs.

Both Ross and Brand are defiant in the face of public anger over the record fine. The night it was announced they posted a photograph of themselves on the Twitter website larking about at a party with friends, seemingly unconcerned at the outcry.

The image also shows among others Ross's wife Jane Goldman and Little Britain star David Walliams.

Critics accused Ross and Brand of appearing as though they 'couldn't-care less' about the issue. The BBC said it would pay the £150,000 from its general funds but there are concerns this will lead to a cut in the programming budget.

A BBC spokesman said: 'Jonathan Ross has already paid a significant financial penalty through being suspended without pay for three months. Ofcom's ruling is against the whole BBC, not one individual.'