David Chaytor pleads guilty over MPs' expenses scandal
Former Labour MP David Chaytor admits false accounting involving a total of £18,350, days before trial was to begin
The former Labour MP for Bury North had previously denied fraudulently claiming parliamentary expenses. His eleventh-hour change of plea at London's Old Bailey came as he exhausted legal avenues to stop his case, due to reach trial on Monday, being heard in the criminal courts.
The 61-year-old stood in the glass-panelled dock of court 11 as the three charges were read aloud, answering "guilty" to each of them. Afterwards, he was mobbed by photographers as he left court in a black taxi with his legal team, making no comment.
He faces a maximum of seven years in prison, but would be expected to receive a more lenient sentence in view of his guilty pleas.
He admitted false accounting involving a total of £18,350. The court was told he had already repaid £13,000, and any other sums outstanding would be repaid before he appeared for sentencing on 7 January at Southwark crown court.
The former university lecturer had claimed £12,925 between 2005 and 2006 for renting a flat in Regency Street, Westminster, producing a tenancy agreement purporting to show he was paying £1,175 a month in rent to the landlord, Sarah Elizabeth Rastrick. But she was his daughter, although her name was disguised by using her middle name as surname, and the flat was owned by Chaytor and his wife, who had already paid off the mortgage.
He also claimed £5,425 between 2007 and 2008 for renting a home in Castle Street, Bury, in Lancashire, which was owned by his mother. He produced a tenancy agreement falsely showing he was paying £775 a month. House of Commons rules do not allow MPs to claim for leasing a property from a family member.
A third charge related to two invoices of £995 each for IT support services in May 2006 when the "services had not been provided or charged for". The court heard that money was never paid to him.Chaytor, from Todmorden, Lancashire, who held Bury North from 1997 until stepping down following the expenses scandal, had fought to prevent his case being tried by the courts, taking it to the supreme court, the highest in the land.
Together with the former Labour MPs Elliot Morley, 58, who represented Scunthorpe, and Jim Devine, 57, formerly MP for Livingston, who face seperate trials at a future date, it was argued that criminal proceedings against them would infringe parliamentary privilege.
The three claimed any investigation into their expenses claims and the imposition of any sanctions "should lie within the hands of parliament" under article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689 and the "exclusive jurisdiction" of parliament.
The supreme court rejected the argument, ruling on Wednesday that neither article 9 nor the exclusive jurisdiction of the House of Commons posed any bar to the jurisdiction of the crown court to try the former MPs.
During his 15-minute hearing today Chaytor, who is on unconditional bail, listened as his counsel, James Sturman QC, told Mr Justice Saunders: "There are many misconceptions about the case which we will wish to put right on January 7.
"Obviously he accepts this is a serious matter. There is no loss to the public purse. Any sums claimed have been, or will be repaid."
Sturman added: "One of the problems Mr Chaytor has had with coverage in the past has certainly been the total failure to reflect his case as appropriate claims gone about in the wrong way. There was some entitlement in this case but he did it in a way which he concedes by his pleas of guilty".
He asked for a pre-sentence report and said he expected to call character witnesses during the sentencing hearing.
Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, said it was accepted that there was no "actual loss" to the public purse in respect of the money falsely charged for IT services.
The judge allowed reporting of the case saying it was a matter of "intense public interest" and that it was "entirely separate" to the impending trials involving parliamentary expenses.
At the time the expenses scandal broke Chaytor, who is married with three children, apologised "unreservedly" for what he called an "unforgiveable error in my accounting procedures". He referred himself to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, John Lyon, and was suspended from the parliamentary Labour party.
Several days after being charged with fraud, he claimed it was "not in my nature to roll over and die" and said he would fight for a fair hearing. He attacked the media for making "outlandish claims" and suggested his "extremely complex personal circumstances would refute the allegations".
He told his local newspaper that "throwing a few people to the wolves" would not solve deeper problems in the parliamentary system.
Speaking outside the Old Bailey, Simon Clements, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "David Chaytor has admitted his dishonesty and will now face the consequences of his actions.
"No-one, no matter what their position, should be allowed to take money they are not entitled to. By his actions David Chaytor has abused the trust placed in him by the public."
A Labour party spokesman said: "David Chaytor is no longer an MP and remains administratively suspended from the Labour party."
As well as Morley and Devine, others due to face separate trials are the former Barnsley Central Labour MP Eric Illsley, the Tory peer Lord Hanningfield, and Lord Taylor of Warwick, a former Tory peer.
