MP David Amess has denied BBC accusations that he breached Parliamentary rules by not declaring a financial interest.

Mr Amess, Tory MP for Southend West, is registered as parliamentary adviser to the Caravan Club, for which he gets between £5,000 and £10,000 a year.

He tabled a Commons question to Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell asking what discussions she had had with the Caravan Club about caravan sites at the 2012 Games.

Mr Amess declared his role as adviser to the Caravan Club in the MPs' register of interests.

However, Commons rules state this declaration must also be made when speaking to fellow MPs or ministers when dealing with the relevant subject matter. According to the "Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members", not declaring a relevant interest is “a very serious breach of the rules”.

A BBC inquiry claimed Mr Amess did not declare his interest, or alert ministers to his registered interest, when asking five other questions about caravans.

Mr Amess reportedly told the BBC it was “an innocent mistake” after the story was aired on the flagship Radio 4 PM news programme.

But later, in an e-mailed statement to the Echo, Mr Amess branded the BBC story a “lie”, although he admitted the “declaration of interests” box was not ticked.

Mr Amess demanded an apology from the chairman of the BBC, Sir Michael Lyons. He said: “I am outraged by the way a lie has been told, by the BBC, regarding my writing to the ministers. I have been misrepresented."

Meanwhile, commenting on the BBC report, the former head of the official anti-sleaze watchdog expressed concern that too many MPs were failing properly to declare all their financial interests when tabling parliamentary questions.

Sir Alistair Graham, the former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said that MPs appeared to be slipping when it came to following the Commons Code of Conduct.

FULL STORY IN THURSDAY'S ECHO