Of 340 dodgy MPs and Peers only two MPs and one Peer in court

Thursday, 11 March 2010

Three British lawmakers accused of expenses fraud appeared in court Thursday, pleading innocent to using thousands of pounds in taxpayers' money to fund private expenses from rent to stationery.

The Labour Party legislators were the first to be prosecuted in a larger political scandal caused by the exposure last year of expenses abuse by hundreds of British lawmakers who claimed public money to fund everything from swank second homes to horse manure, porn movies and a mole catcher.

During the scandal, nine of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's ministers quit and his governing Labour Party suffered heavy losses in local and European elections.

Appearing at London's Westminster Magistrates Court to face charges of theft by false accounting, Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine denied any wrongdoing.

Chaytor faces three charges of false accounting. He is accused of using false invoices to bill the public for IT services, as well as thousands of pounds in rent for a London house he already owned and rent for another house owned by his mother.

Devine faces two charges of using false invoices for claims for cleaning and stationery, and Morley faces two charges of claiming public money in mortgage payments on a loan that had already been paid off.

If found guilty, the lawmakers could face jail sentences of up to seven years.

All three were released on unconditional bail and ordered to appear at Southwark Crown Court on March 30.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.