John
12-03-2010, 10:02 PM
Former MP David Chaytor has pleaded guilty to three charges of false accounting in relation to Parliamentary expenses worth £18,350.
The 61-year-old changed his plea at the Old Bailey days before he was due to go on trial.
He had served as the Labour MP for Bury North but was caught up in last year's expenses scandal, which saw hundreds of members pay back a total of £1.12m.
Chaytor claimed £12,925 in rent for a flat he actually owned on London's Regency Street between 2005 and 2006.
He also claimed £5,425 between 2007 and 2008 in rent for a house in Bury which was owned by his mother.
The third charge related to falsely claiming £1,950 worth of IT support in 2006 for work that was not carried out.
At the time he apologised for an "unforgivable error in my accounting procedures".
The charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years in jail but his sentence is likely to be more lenient as a result of his guilty plea.
Chaytor will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on January 7. He was granted bail.
Simon Clements from the Crown Prosecution Service said the former MP would "now face the consequences of his actions".
"No one, no matter what their position, should be allowed to take money they are not entitled to," he said outside court.
"By his actions David Chaytor has abused the trust placed in him by the public."
He added: "Nothing that happened today should reflect on any defendant in any other case."
Three other ex-MPs and two peers have also been charged in relation to their expenses claims and are due to face trial.
Source - Yahoo News.
The 61-year-old changed his plea at the Old Bailey days before he was due to go on trial.
He had served as the Labour MP for Bury North but was caught up in last year's expenses scandal, which saw hundreds of members pay back a total of £1.12m.
Chaytor claimed £12,925 in rent for a flat he actually owned on London's Regency Street between 2005 and 2006.
He also claimed £5,425 between 2007 and 2008 in rent for a house in Bury which was owned by his mother.
The third charge related to falsely claiming £1,950 worth of IT support in 2006 for work that was not carried out.
At the time he apologised for an "unforgivable error in my accounting procedures".
The charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years in jail but his sentence is likely to be more lenient as a result of his guilty plea.
Chaytor will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on January 7. He was granted bail.
Simon Clements from the Crown Prosecution Service said the former MP would "now face the consequences of his actions".
"No one, no matter what their position, should be allowed to take money they are not entitled to," he said outside court.
"By his actions David Chaytor has abused the trust placed in him by the public."
He added: "Nothing that happened today should reflect on any defendant in any other case."
Three other ex-MPs and two peers have also been charged in relation to their expenses claims and are due to face trial.
Source - Yahoo News.