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

[Oneeyedvic]

craft - Jim Devine is accused of fabricating and claiming against false invoices. Did you check out the authenticity of every single invoice of the 130 people that you were responsible for? Did you telephone every one of the companies to confirm that the invoice was genuine and had been paid? Somehow I doubt it.

Ankou - the point of the report was to ensure that this kind of thing is brought to the public's attention and not allowed to happen again. That has happened. Bear in mind that the majority of MPs did not break the law - they took advantage of it.

[Ankou]

no vic, i mean the point of the prosecution.

the only winners will be lawyers.

[barney15c]

They'll all get off, if they fail at the courts they will all claim parliamentry priviledge as a loophole. If that happens the issue of parliamentry priviledge may be as big an issue as the expense scandal itself.

[modeller]

Why is it Lord Hanningfield is being charged but Baroness Scotland £170, 000 fiddle doesn't get a mention ?