A regional press lobby correspondent has won a lengthy Freedom of Information battle which will force the House of Commons to reveal which former MPs took ‘golden goodbye’ payments.

Political correspondent Joe Watts, who covers Westminster for Northcliffe titles in the East Midlands, has been successful in his fight to find out which MPs claimed the resettlement grant worth up to £60,000 after leaving the Commons last May.

He initially submitted a request for the information last June but this was denied to him because the authorities said it would breach data protection law.

Joe appealed to the Information Commissioner and after the watchdog’s intervention, the Commons authorities have backed down – saying a list of those who claimed the grants will be made public in April.

The success will allow him to discover for the Leicester Mercury if former health secretary Patricia Hewitt, who represented Leicester West, has claimed the resettlement payment despite having a string of well-paid private sector jobs.

On leaving her role as MP at the last election, Ms Hewitt was entitled to a £54,000 grant – but she has never revealed if she had taken this up.

All MPs who drew the grant, thought to be up to 250 of the 255 who left the Commons last May, will be told in the coming weeks that their names will be released to the public.

A Commons official explained that the U-turn occurred because data protection rules that applied when the information was first requested last June were no longer relevant.

Writing about the victory on his Lobbydog blog, Joe said: “We complained to the Information Commissioner and after the watchdog’s intervention the Commons have now backed down.

“They are in the process of informing all former MPs who took the grant that their names will be released in a list to come some time in early April.

“It’s good the information is finally coming, but sad we had to drag it out of the Commons, given everything that’s happened.”

Rules in place last May allowed MPs to claim a resettlement grant to help them adjust to non-parliamentary life based on their years of service and their final salary – but changes have been made since the expenses scandal which have seen it greatly reduced.