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Expenses trial MPs appeal over privilege claim
29 Jun 2010The three ex-MPs and a Tory peer charged with fiddling their expenses today renewed their legal bid to have the charges dropped on the grounds of parliamentary privilege.
Their lawyers told the Appeal Court that they had genuinely believed they were entitled to the money.
The former MPs, David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Jim Devine, and Lord Hanningfield face separate trials for alleged false accounting.
Earlier this month Mr Justice Saunders rejected their arguments that they should be dealt with by Parliament alone.
Today, Nigel Pleming QC, representing Chaytor, said: “This is not an attempt to take the defendants above the law, it is to ensure that they… be judged by the correct law and the correct body.”
Chaytor, 60, Morley, 57, Devine, 57, and Lord Hanningfield, 69, all deny the charges. The case continues.
Reader views (10)
What a good idea Huggy. Just think of the extra tax receipts if all the accountants were unable to help their clients!!!!
- alan, Carlisle uk, 29/06/2010 16:20
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They must fail These common criminals can not get away with it.
- Patrick Mc Crossan, LONDON, 29/06/2010 15:12
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Sadly, most people seem to miss the point.
As I understand it, the criteria for legitimate expense claims seems to be riddled with glaring loopholes by using expressions like 'reasonable', and 'personal judgement'.
This sloppy use of language was just a woolly parliamentary cop-out, and left the door wide open to abuse by those so inclined.
Their 'crimes' although morally reprehensible to most, are no worse than the perfectly legal (yet just as immoral) difference between Tax Evasion, -and Tax Avoidance.
In other words, greedy chancers who will milk the system for every penny they can get away with, but I'm sure they did not think of themselves as 'criminals', -because the system allowed this abuse.
Reprimand and pay back by all means, but to jail these people would be unjust.
Unless we're going to start jailing all the big income tax accountancy firms, and all those who use their services.
- Huggy, Cumbernauld Scotland, 29/06/2010 11:24
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These are the unlucky little piggies out of the hundreds of piggies that did a bad cover up job.
- DC, Ealing, 29/06/2010 11:15
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@ George Lampton, Reading
They are/were all at it, I do not stand behind any MP on the take.
@ patrick, Brixton SW
I concur, we do need more scrutiny. My first sentence is sarcasm. We also need a better system of democracy in this country with direct accountability to the electorate. That means leaving the EU and ceasing to be governed by an unelected, unaccountable executive in Brussels.
Quite frankly as it stands with 70% of Laws coming from the EU, we do not need Parliament! The more they tie us into the EU, the more they do themselves out of a job.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 29/06/2010 11:00
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So why have the leaders of these rotten apple MP's not thrown them out of their respective parties plus of course making them pay the falsified claims back? Still I always thought stealing was a punishable crime!! Unless of course you happen to be an MP. Pity they can't be "punished" at the Tower of London and left in or rather on public view. Bet that would get a few heads turning.
- peter, Vienna, Austria, 29/06/2010 10:31
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Frank.. We need more political scrutiny of the executive not less. Since MPs are now subjected to 'party whipping' their independance has been reduced to nothing more than an irrelevance. An independantly constituted House of Lords, without allegiance to any political party, is the only mechanism we have of holding the Executive to account. Failing to have some form of second chamber could mean that a Cabinet consisting of less than 20 elected MPs, and more importantly it could include a number of unelected Cabinet Ministers, would have complete control over all Government activities and, in theory at least, would be able to force through any legislation it chose to adopt. Just think back to the absolute power exercised by a few MPs in the period of the 'rump' parliaments of Oliver Cromwell. The implications of such an 'elected dictatorship' coming into existance without some form of independant external scrutiny are obvious and frightening.
- patrick, Brixton SW, 29/06/2010 10:10
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Frank,lets hear your take on Michael Porter Williams comment,which according to Google is correct.
- George Lampton, Reading, 29/06/2010 10:06
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Why just these four,what about all the rest,including our newly promoted Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox,having been caught with his hand in the public till,refuses to hand back the £22,476,03 he stole from us until ordered to do so by a Judge,he had no need to steal a penny,during the last six years this HONOURABLE Gentleman claimed £729,258 in expences,on top of the salary we pay him of £66,000 a year?
- Michael Porter Williams, London, 29/06/2010 09:53
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It is their parliamentary privilege to steal. This will shine a light nicely on Parliament and hopefully bring it into the 21st Century. Time to shut down the Lords too. Just as Lord Lardy "I am working class I am" Prescott is about to take his seat, that would be funny!
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 29/06/2010 09:22
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