Former Conservative peer denies falsely claiming £24,300 in expenses scandal

Former Conservative peer denies falsely claiming £24,300 in expenses scandal

Home Staff (The Times £)
Last updated September 30 2010 12:01AM

A former Conservative peer has denied dishonestly claiming more than £24,300 in overnight subsistence and mileage.

Lord Taylor of Warwick, 58, appeared at Southwark Crown Court, London, after being charged over the parliamentary expenses scandal. He pleaded not guilty to six counts of false accounting relating to his second home. He did not stand in the dock but made his plea from the courtroom.

The first charge alleges that on or around March 31, 2006, he dishonestly submitted claims for overnight subsistence and car mileage, stating that his main home was outside London when he lived in the capital.

The five other charges allege that similar claims were made on July 3 and October 31, 2006, and April 5, July 2 and October 31, 2007.

As Lord Taylor, whose full name is John David Beckett Taylor, began to move from his seat at the back of court to the dock to make his plea, Mr Justice Saunders intervened and said: “He can do it from there. It’s all right.”

The court was told that three former Labour MPs who are charged over expenses allegations are likely to stand trial from November 22.

David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Jim Devine, who were not in court, all deny theft by false accounting.

Mr Chaytor, 60, the former Bury North MP, of Todmorden, West Yorkshire; Mr Morley, 58, the ex-Scunthorpe MP, of Winterton, north Lincolnshire and Mr Devine, 57, of Bathgate, West Lothian, formerly MP for Livingston, are all on bail preceeding separate trials at Southwark Crown Court.

Lord Hanningfield, the former Conservative peer, and Eric Illsley, the former Labour MP, have also been charged over the scandal.

Both deny any wrongdoing and are likely to stand trial early next year.