MPs' expenses: Eric Illsley appears in court charged with £25,000 fraud
Eric Illsley, a Labour MP, today denied stealing more than £25,000 in parliamentary expenses, as he became the fifth politician to appear in court charged with fraud.
Mr Illsley is accused of deliberately over-claiming second home allowances for his home in London between 2005 and 2008.
It is alleged that he made fraudulent claims of £4,500 for council tax, £12,000 for service and maintenance bills, £4,500 for utilities charges and £5,700 for phone bills.
He faces a maximum of seven years in prison if found guilty.
At City of Westminster Magistrates' Court Simon Clements, for the prosecution, said Mr Illsley had taken advantage of a pre-2008 House of Commons rule stating MPs need not provide receipts for expenses under £250.
His excessive claims were disclosed when this limit dropped to £25 in 2008 and his claims became much smaller, Mr Clements said.
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