Expenses claim row MPs appear in dock together
6:07am Friday 12th March 2010 in News
BAILED: David Chaytor leaves court yesterday
BURY North MP David Chaytor has been released on bail after appearing before magistrates charged with three counts of theft by false accounting.
Chaytor, who has already announced his intention to stand down as an MP at the forthcoming General Election, appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court alongside fellow Labour MPs Elliott Morley and Jim Devine.
The three men stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the dock, despite an application from their barrister to allow them to stand in the well of the court.
All three MPs told District Judge Timothy Workman they denied any wrongdoing.
They were released on unconditional bail and ordered to appear at Southwark Crown Court on March 30.
At the start of the 15-minute hearing, an application by their barrister Julian Knowles to allow the defendants to sit outside the dock was rejected.
District Judge Workman agreed with an application by the defence for the case to be heard at the Crown Court.
Mr Knowles said the case raised issues of constitutional importance and it was right that it should be tested at the higher court.
The defendants confirmed their names and dates of birth before pleading not guilty to each charge.
Prosecutor Simon Clements said the charges were “reasonably descriptive” as he outlined the case against Devine, who was first on the charge sheet.
Mr Knowles said his clients would argue a criminal prosecution would be in breach of a fundamental principle of British law.
He said: “I would like to make it clear on behalf of Mr Morley, Mr Chaytor and Mr Devine that they unequivocally and steadfastly maintain their innocence of the charges against them.
“They also maintain that to prosecute them in the criminal courts for Parliamentary activities would infringe the principle of the separation of powers, which is one of the principles which underpin the UK’s constitutional structure.”
Mr Knowles added that his clients were not “saying that they are above the law” and that their argument was against the process they face.
The three politicians gathered in a consultation room after the hearing to speak to their legal team.
Their prosecution, at a court a short distance from Parliament, is the first to result from the Westminster expenses scandal which rocked parliament last year. The defendants left court without commenting to journalists and got into a waiting black cab accompanied by their lawyers and escorted by police officers.
There was a brief crush around the vehicle as protesters hurled abuse, shouting “pigs” and “oink, oink”.
Chaytor, who has represented the Bury North constituency since 1997, has been charged with three counts under section 17 of the Theft Act 1968 for false accounting.
Conservative peer Lord Hanningfield also faces charges linked to the Westminster expenses scandal but has entered no plea yet. Lord Hanningfield faces charges relating to his claims for House of Lords’ allowances.
