£576,000 office renovations will save taxpayers money, EU official insists

German MEP Rainer Wieland spent 20,000 on a light fitting and the same amount on bespoke doors

A vice-president of the European parliament is facing questions after it was revealed he had spent nearly 690,000 (576,000) on lavish office renovations.

Rainer Wieland, a Christian Democrat MEP from Germany, spent 486,011 on a state-of-the-art office and 134,774 showroom" next door, both built from scratch on the 15th floor of the European parliament in Brussels, according to a leaked report seen by the Guardian.