Brown, Cameron and to a lesser extent Clegg, all want to talk about their own chosen issues. And then what happens? The ‘Elephant in the Election’ comes bounding in and reminds those with short-term memories what they have been missing. And each time the elephant arrives, it brings with it even more staggering news of just how shameless these ‘allegedly’ venal, skuldugerous and execrable MPs are.
A news report in The Times sets out the basics.
“Three former Labour MPs accused of fiddling their parliamentary expenses have won taxpayer money to help pay their legal bills just weeks before the introduction of “means testing”.
David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Jim Devine are accused of stealing almost £60,000 in allowances through false mortgage claims, rent claims and invoiced services.
They have been told they are eligible for legal aid to fund their defences which includes the argument that they are protected from prosecution by the ancient right of parliamentary privilege.
The former MPs’ total legal bill is expected to reach tens of thousands of points (sic) but could reach six figures if they continue their legal appeal all the way to the Supreme Court.
Lord Hanningfield, a Tory peer who is also accused of fraudulently claiming expenses, has not applied for legal aid.”
So there you have it. This one will run and run.
Is it any co-incidence that their next court appearance is scheduled for May 6th?
No comments:
Post a Comment