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Britain's top prosecutor today vowed to reach a decision "as quickly as possible" on whether to bring charges over the MPs' expenses scandal.
Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer said there would be "no delay" in reaching a decision once police had collected all the evidence on the politicians under investigation.
His promise, delivered at a briefing in London today, came as a panel of Metropolitan Police detectives and Crown Prosecution Service lawyers continues to assess allegations that several MPs broke the law by claiming expenses they were not entitled to.
Among those who are understood to be the focus of the investigation are former Labour minister Elliot Morley and Labour backbencher David Chaytor, both of whom claimed for mortgages which they had already paid off.
Mr Starmer declined to set a precise time for a charging decision but he promised that rapid action would be taken as soon as all the material had been submitted to him. His comments were made to allay fears that the saga could drag on.
"There must be no delay. We must go as speedily as we can," said Mr Starmer. "The investigation has to be careful and detailed. Inevitably the best way of achieving that is through focusing on the few cases that warrant the investigation that is going on."
Although many of the politicians involved are likely to escape legal action because their claims were within parliamentary rules, several were found to have claimed wrongly for expenses which they had not incurred or which were not permitted.
Reader views (1)
"There must be no delay"?
If Joe Public had fiddled their benefits they would have been ARRESTED, HANDCUFFED, CHARGED AND THROWN INTO PRISON. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
IN FACT, JOE PUBLIC WOULD HAVE FINISHED THE PRISON SENTENCE BY THE TIME IT HAS TAKEN TO DECIDE IF MP's SHOULD BE PROSECUTED.
ONE LAW FOR JOE PUBLIC AND A DIFFERENT LAW FOR MP's.
HYPOCRITES.
- Reuben Camara, Republic of Morecambe, UK, 23/07/2009 16:00
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