More politicians may face court over expenses

At least 121 MPs plan to stand down following the expenses scandal
12 April 2012

Two more politicians were today facing the risk of criminal charges over the Parliamentary expenses scandal as new evidence was sent to prosecutors by Scotland Yard.

The Met announced that two further files of evidence, to add to the four already submitted, had been handed to the Crown Prosecution Service.

It means six politicians - including MPs and peers - could face criminal action if the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, decides that there is sufficient evidence.

Although none of the six has been named, the targets of the investigation are thought to include former Labour minister Elliot Morley and fellow Labour MP David Chaytor. They each claimed thousands of pounds in second home allowances for "phantom" mortgages which had already been paid off.

A third Labour MP, Jim Devine, has reportedly been under investigation over invoices he submitted for electrical work worth £2,157 from a company with an allegedly fake address and an invalid VAT number.

Labour peer Baroness Uddin is also facing allegations that she claimed £100,000 in allowances by registering as her main home a property in Maidstone, Kent, that was reportedly barely occupied.

A Met spokesman said today a "small number" of other cases remained under investigation. The CPS said: "Any decisions on whether there should be any charges in relation to these files and those already received will be made as quickly as is practical."

The parliamentarians could be prosecuted for fraud or false accounting, with maximum penalties of 10 or seven years. Scotland Yard launched investigations last June into potential criminal wrongdoing after details of MPs' expenses and allowances were made public by the Daily Telegraph.

Commons chiefs are bracing themselves for a rush of MPs announcing they are quitting parliament. Already 121 have said they plan to stand down at the next election, but far more are expected to follow them after the reputation of MPs plunged so dramatically.

MPs can claim a resettlement grant of up to £64,8000, so the taxpayer could be left with a bill of around £10million for the departing politicians.

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