A FOURTH Labour MP is Convicted of Theft from the Public Purse

Elliot Morley

Regular readers will know by now that I have been following the saga of Labour’s criminal record. A succession of Labour MPs have been investigated for fiddling their expenses by the Police and now they are one by one heading to prison. Today a FOURTH former  MP, Elliot Morley (Labour, Scunthorpe) was convicted in Southwark Court. His was the most serious case to date with over £30,000 of tax-payers money having been swindled. Morley was found to have claimed for a mortgage which no longer existed, an allegation he denied when first challenged.

He faces a sentence of up to seven years in prison. So far Eric Illsley (Barnsley Central) admitted stealing £14,500 and was sentenced to 12 months;  Derek Chaytor (Bury North) admitted to stealing £18,000 and was sentenced to 18 months; Jim Devine (Livingston) admitted stealing £9,000 and was sentenced to 16 months.

As well as these convicted theives of public money, Labour MP Phil Woolas (Oldham East & Saddleworth) was convicted by an election court of lying about his opponent in the 2010 election and was stripped of his Parliamentary seat.

As if this was not enough, last year three senior Labour former Ministers (Geoff Hoon, Stephen Byers and Richard Caborne) were found to have offered their services for cash and were stripped of their Parliamentary passes.

Morley faces a sentence of up to seven years in prison. He will find out his fate in the next few weeks. Perhaps the Justice Secretary will set aside a wing of a prison just for former Labour MPs!