Dear All
One of the unintentional benefits of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition is that pressure is off the Crown Prosecution Service to act against MPs.
Labour MP Eric Illsley has been charged with false accounting over his expenses.
Since this move he has also been suspended by the Labour Party.
The allegations centre round him allegedly dishonestly claiming £20,000 in council tax and other bills on his second home in London.
As usual when a Labour MP is caught, they immediately claim they are innocent of wrongdoing.
It is the same record played by Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine.
The Barnsley Central Labour MP has a date to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on 17 June.
In announcing the suspension of Illsey, a Labour mouthpiece said;
"The Labour Party's general secretary has issued Eric Illsley with a suspension following the CPS's announcement of criminal charges against him. As a result, Eric Illsley has been suspended from the Whip and cannot attend any Labour Party meeting. This was felt necessary in light of the criminal charges."
I think we can safely say, they aren’t going to be supportive.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer said in a prepared statement;
"Having thoroughly reviewed a file of evidence we received from the Metropolitan Police on 30 March this year, we concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to bring criminal charges against Eric Illsley MP."
The three criminal charges against Mr Illsey are under section 17 of the Theft Act 1968 for false accounting.
Starmer statement added;
"The first charge alleges that Mr Illsley dishonestly claimed expenses in relation to council tax, service and maintenance charges, repairs and insurance charges, and utilities and communications charges for his second home in Renfrew Road, London, between May 2005 and April 2006. The second charge relates to the same claims between May 2006 and April 2007, and the third charge relates to the same claims between May 2007 and April 2008. In total the charges allege a sum in excess of £20,000 was dishonestly claimed over this three year period."
I wonder if Illsey will take the same route and lawyers as the ‘Labour three’ and claim parliamentary privilege.
So, just days into the ‘new’ politics that was supposed to sweep away the old corruption and we have another Labour MP bringing the House of Commons into disrepute.
As I said previously in another post;
“I don’t think the clean break from the past has been achieved”.
In an uncertain world some things just don’t change, Labour MPs will always be greedy, self serving and useless.
It seems the ‘Labour three’ have a new member joining.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
One of the unintentional benefits of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition is that pressure is off the Crown Prosecution Service to act against MPs.
Labour MP Eric Illsley has been charged with false accounting over his expenses.
Since this move he has also been suspended by the Labour Party.
The allegations centre round him allegedly dishonestly claiming £20,000 in council tax and other bills on his second home in London.
As usual when a Labour MP is caught, they immediately claim they are innocent of wrongdoing.
It is the same record played by Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine.
The Barnsley Central Labour MP has a date to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on 17 June.
In announcing the suspension of Illsey, a Labour mouthpiece said;
"The Labour Party's general secretary has issued Eric Illsley with a suspension following the CPS's announcement of criminal charges against him. As a result, Eric Illsley has been suspended from the Whip and cannot attend any Labour Party meeting. This was felt necessary in light of the criminal charges."
I think we can safely say, they aren’t going to be supportive.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer said in a prepared statement;
"Having thoroughly reviewed a file of evidence we received from the Metropolitan Police on 30 March this year, we concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to bring criminal charges against Eric Illsley MP."
The three criminal charges against Mr Illsey are under section 17 of the Theft Act 1968 for false accounting.
Starmer statement added;
"The first charge alleges that Mr Illsley dishonestly claimed expenses in relation to council tax, service and maintenance charges, repairs and insurance charges, and utilities and communications charges for his second home in Renfrew Road, London, between May 2005 and April 2006. The second charge relates to the same claims between May 2006 and April 2007, and the third charge relates to the same claims between May 2007 and April 2008. In total the charges allege a sum in excess of £20,000 was dishonestly claimed over this three year period."
I wonder if Illsey will take the same route and lawyers as the ‘Labour three’ and claim parliamentary privilege.
So, just days into the ‘new’ politics that was supposed to sweep away the old corruption and we have another Labour MP bringing the House of Commons into disrepute.
As I said previously in another post;
“I don’t think the clean break from the past has been achieved”.
In an uncertain world some things just don’t change, Labour MPs will always be greedy, self serving and useless.
It seems the ‘Labour three’ have a new member joining.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
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