up to £700 a time to appear on talk show This Week

The BBC is paying out £200,000 of taxpayers' money in fees to MPs who appear on its shows, with Labour's Diane Abbott and Alan Johnson pocketing the most.

In the last five years, 65 of Britain's 650 MPs have been paid by the broadcaster to feature on television and radio programmes.

Of them, 29 are Labour MPs, who have received a combined £141,260 from the BBC, which is funded by the licence fee paid by viewers.

The BBC is paying out £200,000 of taxpayers' money in fees to MPs who appear on its shows, with Labour's Alan Johnson pocketing the most. He is seen here (left) on talk show The Week

Both Johnson and Diane Abbott (pictured) are regular co-presenters This Week, where they appear alongside former Tory minister Michael Portillo (right), receiving £700 per show

The highest paid were Labour's Alan Johnson, who has been paid £58,767 by the corporation since 2010 and Dianne Abbot, who has received £43,380, according to figures unearthed by The Sun.

Both are regular co-presenters on Andrew Neill's weekly political talk show This Week, where they appear alongside former Tory minister Michael Portillo. The show airs on BBC One on Thursday nights.

BBC guidelines state that MPs, or others who are identified as representing political parties should not normally be paid for 'appearances or other contributions to any BBC output in which they are speaking as a member of their party or expressing political views'.

John O'Connell, director of campaign group The Taxpayers' Alliance, told MailOnline: 'The BBC have clear guidelines which state they shouldn't pay when politicians put forward a political view, and clearly most of these payments are in defiance of those rules.

The highest paid by the BBC was Alan Johnson, who has been paid £58,767 by the corporation since 2010

BBC guidelines state that MPs, or others who are identified as representing political parties should not normally be paid for 'appearances or other contributions to any BBC output in which they are speaking as a member of their party or expressing political views'

'You can't blame the MPs, but the BBC must be asked why they're bothering with guidelines if they're not going to enforce them.'

BBC GUIDELINES ON POLITICAL INTERVIEWS AND CONTRIBUTIONS 'We should not normally pay MPs, or others clearly identified as representing political parties, for appearances or other contributions to any BBC output in which they are speaking as a member of their party or expressing political views. They can, where appropriate, be paid a limited and realistic disturbance fee and/or any reimbursement for genuine expenses. 'They may be paid for contributions to non-political output, where they are appearing on the basis of their expertise outside politics or of their celebrity, and are not taking part as a member of their party or expressing political views. 'Active politicians should not normally be paid for an appearance on, or contribution to, BBC News output. The extent to which a contributor is considered an active politician may be influenced in each case by a combination of factors including, for example, the type of programme or other content, the nature of the contribution, the contributor's political activity or the capacity in which they appear.' Advertisement

Details of the amount received by the MPs for their work with the BBC appears on the Register of Members' Interests, which is intended to ensure disclosure of financial interests that may be of relevance to MPs' work.

The Register shows that 27 Conservative MPs, six Liberal Democrats, two from Plaid Cymru, and the Green Party's sole representative in parliament, Caroline Lucas, were also given BBC appearance fees.

In total the corporation has paid £203,132 to MPs since 2010.

Labour's shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan received £1,500 in April last year for his appearance as a panellist on BBC comedy show Have I Got News For You. The Register states that this money was donated to charity.

Conservative MPs Peter Bone, Tim Loughton and Jacob Rees-Mogg were given the same amount for their appearances on the quiz last year, as was the Green's Dr Lucas.

Business Secretary Vince Cable also donated the £10,000 he received for Strictly Come Dancing's 2011 Christmas special to charity.

The Register states that Ms Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, has received £700 for each of her three hour-long appearances on This Week, where she appears as a co-presenter.

Since December 2013, she has appeared 19 times, receiving a total of £13,300 - according to the Register.

Conservative MP Rory Stewart has received a total of £17,998 from the BBC, including £8,200 last year for 13 hours work making his documentary 'Border Country: The Story Of Britain's Lost Middleland'

Business Secretary Vince Cable donated the £10,000 he received for Strictly Come Dancing's 2011 Christmas special to charity

THE BIG EARNERS: MONEY PAID TO MPS BY THE BBC SINCE 2010 LABOUR: Alan Johnson £58,767 LABOUR: Diane Abbott £43,380 CONSERVATIVE: Rory Stewart £17,998 LIB DEMS: Vince Cable £10,000 LABOUR: Tristram Hunt £9,888 LABOUR: Peter Hain £7,900 Sadiq Khan gave the £1,500 he earned from appearing on Have I Got News For You to charity LIB DEMS: Charles Kennedy £7,350 LABOUR: Gisela Stuart £3,648 CONSERVATIVE: Jacob Rees-Mogg £3,250 CONSERVATIVE: Glyn Davies £2,850 LABOUR: Sadiq Khan £2,500 GREEN: Caroline Lucas £2,100 CONSERVATIVE: Michael Fabricant £1,800 LABOUR: Bob Ainsworth £1,500 LABOUR: Caroline Flint £1,500 LABOUR: Tom Watson £1,500 CONSERVATIVE: Peter Bone £1,500 CONSERVATIVE: Tim Loughton £1,500 CONSERVATIVE: Nadine Dorries £1,440 LABOUR: Hazel Blears £1,400 LABOUR: Tessa Jowell £1,325 PLAID CYMRU: Elfyn Llynwd £1,317 CONSERVATIVE: Philip Davies £1,290 CONSERVATIVE: Patrick Mercer £1,000 LABOUR: David Blunkett £1,000 CONSERVATIVE: Michael Gove £969 CONSERVATIVE: David Davis £900 LABOUR: Nia Griffith £781 LABOUR: Owen Smith £781 LIB DEM: Menzies Campbell £775 LABOUR: Dan Jarvis £750 LABOUR: Valerie Vaz £675 CONSERVATIVE: John Redwood £647 LIB DEM: Norman Baker £600 CONSERVATIVE: Guto Bebb £540 LABOUR: Ben Bradshaw £537 LABOUR: Alistair Darling £500 LABOUR: Graham Stringer £500 LABOUR: Kate Hoey £500 Peter Hain received £2,900 to cover the costs of his flight and hotels for a documentary on South Africa CONSERVATIVE: Chris Skidmore £500 CONSERVATIVE: Priti Patel £500 CONSERVATIVE: Ann Widdecombe £458 LABOUR: David Lammy £450 LABOUR: Susan Jones £450 CONSERVATIVE: Bernard Jenkin £300 CONSERVATIVE: Jesse Norman £300 CONSERVATIVE: Stephen Dorrell £300 CONSERVATIVE: Sarah Wollaston £250 CONSERVATIVE: Cheryl Gillan £222 CONSERVATIVE: Matthew Hancock £199 PLAID CYMRU: Jonathan Edwards £184 LABOUR: Margaret Beckett £178 LABOUR: Frank Field £150 LABOUR: Hilary Benn £150 LABOUR: Jack Straw £150 LABOUR: Keith Vaz £150 LABOUR: Mary Creagh £150 CONSERVATIVE: Graham Brady £150 CONSERVATIVE: John Whittingdale £150 LIB DEM: Jo Swinson £150 LIB DEM: Sarah Teather £150 CONSERVATIVE: Bob Stewart £125 LABOUR: Stephen Pound £100 CONSERVATIVE: Alec Shelbrooke £60 CONSERVATIVE: William Hague £45 Source: The Sun/Register of Member's Interests Advertisement

In the same period, Mr Johnson, MP for Hull West and Hessle, has received a total of £10,917 for his contributions to BBC television and radio programmes. According to the Register, this amounted to 54 hours of work.

The Register shows that in 2010, he received £3,000 for a five-part BBC radio series, in 2011 a total of £6,450, £9,900 in 2012 and £16,400 in 2013.

Conservative MP Rory Stewart has received a total of £17,998 from the BBC, including £8,200 last year for 13 hours work making his documentary 'Border Country: The Story Of Britain's Lost Middleland', about northern England and southern Scotland.

And former Labour minister Peter Hain received £2,900 to cover the costs of his flight and hotels while filming a documentary on the future of South Africa in November 2012.

A BBC spokesman told MailOnline: 'In general the BBC does not pay the dozens of elected politicians who appear on its news programmes.

'However, we do make payments to MPs who are involved in presenting or appearing on programmes where their primary purpose goes beyond promoting a party political viewpoint.

'In common with other broadcasters, we sometimes cover travel costs and pay a small "disturbance fee" where appropriate. These arrangements are not prevented by BBC guidelines.'

The spokesman added that even though This Week is a political programme, guests such as Mr Johnson and Ms Abbott were appearing as individuals, rather than party spokesmen.

MailOnline has approached the offices of Mr Johnson and Ms Abbott for comment.