Four to be prosecuted

[Oneeyedvic]

Three Labour MPs and one Tory peer will face criminal charges over their expenses, Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer has said.

MPs Elliot Morley, Jim Devine, David Chaytor and Lord Hanningfield will face charges under the Theft Act.

In a joint statement the MPs said they refuted any charges and would "defend our position robustly".

Labour peer Lord Clarke will not be charged but a sixth case remains under investigation.

Police have investigated a handful of cases since expenses revelations were published last May.

In an announcement outside the headquarters of the Crown Prosecution Service, Mr Starmer said files had been reviewed carefully by senior CPS lawyers aided by "an external and highly experienced criminal QC".

"In four cases, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges and that it is in the public interest to charge the individuals concerned," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk..._politics/8499590.stm

[Gromit]

Ok, they are all guilty - Fine or Prison?

[Oneeyedvic]

If they are found guilty then I think that they should get a harsher sentence than if this was a private sector fraud case - so maybe a short time inside.

[anotheoldgit]

Surprise, surprise it seems Baroness Uddin has got away with it even though she allegedly claimed £100,000 expenses on empty flat.

http://www.timesonlin...cs/article6211846.ece

Or could she be the sixth case still under investigation?

[anotheoldgit]

Gromit

/// Ok, they are all guilty - Fine or Prison? ///

They have only been told they will be charged, they have not been before a court of law yet

[Gromit]

Baroness Uddin has not got away with it, but a whitre male MP has got away with it

// Lord Clarke of Hampstead will not face any charges because of "insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction and lawyers are still considering a police file on Baroness Uddin. //

[jno]

If they are found guilty it will be, in effect, guilty of robbing the public purse. They should get the same treatment as benefit fraudsters. This will probably mean rather milder punishment than I would prefer, but it's only fair. Loss of jobs is also to be expected.

http://news.bbc.co.uk...and/devon/8471343.stm

It is a little surprising that so few are being prosecuted; but I suppose the rules were so broad, and so fudgeable, that you could almost get away with murder under them.

[Gromit]

// Ok, they are all guilty - Fine or Prison? //

I was just being presumptuous to further the debate.

[Gromit]

AOG / Everyone

If you are quick you might catch the surprising opening paragraph on Baroness Uddin's Wikipedia page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroness_Uddin

[fredpuli47]

Baroness Uddin must have generated a lot of paperwork to check ! Or the neighbours can't be found or have suddenly changed their recollection (no speculating on the reason,if they have, please ! ) Obvious thing is to check the gas and electricity meters (and telephone use, if any).If she's careful she'll have paid endless estimates for gas and electricity but there'll still be some definite readings from first use to latest to show that nobody could have been there.That should be enough to corroborate other evidence satisfactorily.

[fredpuli47]

Oh yes, Gromit, she's a 'community activist and thief' according to the wiki. Well, wikipedia is usually accurate but we couldn't possibly comment on individual entries, could we ? LOL

[anotheoldgit]

Gromit

/// but a white male MP has got away with it ///

Lord Clarke is a Peer, not a MP.

[flip_flop]

Sooooo, Labour MPs are more bent than Tories?

[craft1948]

as far as I can see the only guilty person is the one who signed the expenses off to authorise payments.

[flip_flop]

Do you really, no really, believe that craft?

[Ankou]

sound like it cost more to compile the report, and now more to prosecute them than will ever be repaid - so what is the point ?

anyone ?

[Sqad]

ankou....the point is that MP's who break the Law are punished......however much it costs.

[Ankou]

"MP's who break the Law are punished"

do you really believe that sqad, really ? and only 4 out of 646 mps, or 4 out of the 373 ordered to pay back money ?

[craft1948]

flip-flop I used to work for a very large company and one of my jobs was scrutinising expenses claims for 130 people, which mainly concerned extended travel abroad. I was responsible for authorising very large sums of money to be paid out, and took my job very seriously indeed. I had a whole book of guidelines to work by, and rejected many claims.....some were genuine mistakes and some were not.....I am confident my work would have stood up to any audit. So who on earth was authorising these peoples' claims?