Ex-MP Elliot Morley due in court over expenses

Yesterday's Man?

It's Elliot Morley's day in court this time. He is due to appear in his first hearing to face allegations of dishonestly claiming more than £30,000 in parliamentary expenses. Mr Morley, who quit Parliament at the last election, denies two counts of false accounting relating to mortgage claims between 2004 and 2007.

I remember him coming out of his house denying all the charges. He still is it seems. However, he runs the risk of the judge adding on several months extra jail time if the court finds otherwise. An MP who coughs up and says sorry is one thing. An ex-MP who digs in his heels is quite another. Time will tell. He's in court at 4pm.

UPDATE

He pleaded guilty after all. The Crown Prosecution Service said, "The Parliamentary expenses system exists to assist the public's representatives in carrying out their duties, but Mr Morley used it to line his own pockets with just over £30,000 - more than an average household's annual income. Such behaviour is blatantly dishonest and cannot be excused." Quite so. But there are plenty of others out there in the corporate world doing very similar things. A broader brush is required.

Posted in: Elliot Morley,MPs expenses,political corruption