It’s finally official: the most outrageous and blatant thievery from the public purse might attract the attention of the Director of Public Prosecutions:

Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, is due to announce later on Friday on live television whether to prosecute up to six parliamentarians with fraud and false accounting following a Scotland Yard investigation.

Those facing possible charges are the Labour MPs Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine, the Labour peers Baroness Uddin and Lord Clarke of Hampstead, and Lord Hanningfield, a Tory.

Personally, I’d be hugely surprised if he announced any prosecutions at all. And frankly, even if Mr Starmer were to bring charges against all six of these alleged thieves and all six were found guilty and all six spent sufficient time in jail by my own, rather more rigorous standards of such things, I would still feel completely unsatisfied. It is quite clear to me that these six cases by no means represent the scale of the crime committed against the public weal.

Let’s not forget how many MPs are standing down at this election to spend more time with their (our?) money. Let’s not forget how many MPs have been forced to pay back money and how many are contesting the decision to have to pay back the money they stole. Let’s not forget the number of high-profile MPs who have been exonerated despite being considered extremely guilty in Harriet Harman’s “Court of Public Opinion”. Under the circumstances, it is unlikely that any announcement made by Mr Starmer will be satisfactory.

But I suspect that Mr Starmer’s announcement is going to be even more disappointing than the best-case scenario I outlined above. It may well be that only one or at best, two of these people will actually be prosecuted. They will either be acquitted or receive a risibly light sentence. Imagine if the only person who actually gets prosecuted is the Tory peer, Lord Hanningfield. This would probably cause a bit of outrage, so I suspect one of the less important and less-well-connected Labour peers might get the short straw. If he (or she) gets acquitted early on in the proceedings, then the Tories could be left carrying the whole burden of the expenses shambles. Happily, I’m far too naive to imagine that such a Machiavellian scenario might actually occur.

And hundreds of MPs and peers will slink off quietly into the night, thinking: “There, but for the grace of Gord, go I.”

1
House of Clowns February 5, 2010 at 09:26

The CPS are obviously now under political control just like the police and all the rest. The entire apparatus of the State is rotten from top to bottom. Laws are only enforced against the plebs – that much is blatantly obvious.

2
JohnRS February 5, 2010 at 09:36

No law for them, plenty of laws for us.

Where are the charges of fraud, false claims or theft and investigations for CGT tax avoidance?

Just set this into the real world of private industry. Imagine if someone attrempted any one of the main fraudulent claims that have been revealed. It would just require a brief meeting with management and HR and then summary dissmissal for gross misconduct would follow.

Yet these elected thieves are still in office, snouts still buried in the public trough. They are choosing to leave at the election to make sure they get another undeserved portion of our wealth. No-one is pursuing them for their criminal acts. They even have the gall to appeal against the minor slap on the wrist they have been given – and they’re being let off!! Laughing all the way to the bank doesn’t even beging to describe it.

Just remember there’s an election coming. Our memory is long and our vengence will be total.

3
John Pickworth February 5, 2010 at 09:37

While I’m charitable enough to accept that in ’some cases’ an MP might have unwittingly over claimed on his/her expenses, its as obvious as the noses on their faces that a great many knew exactly what they were doing. I’m not talking about the out and out fraud, such as claiming for none existent mortgages or properties they did/didn’t own, but those that banged-in claims for extraneous sundries purely because they thought they’d get away with them.

So, given that there are more than a handful falling into the fraud category and maybe ten times that number in the Fagin category; how come more of them aren’t speaking into a police station’s tape recorder this morning?

And no, I don’t care that the opportunistic claims were within the ‘rules’ or that they’ve since repaid the money. Come on, how many bank robbers would get off scot free if the cash was recovered? I’ll wager zero, none, zilch. I’m sorry, but my charity runs out when I hear stories of MPs claiming for four televisions in two years, or have ordered essential items to aid them in their constituency/Westminster duties but then had said items delivered to other addresses etc etc etc… we’ve all heard of examples, the moats, the toilet seats, the pergolas, Gordon bloody Brown’s summer house cum garden office and some other twit’s flag pole ropes. Arrrrrghhhh!

4
Blink February 5, 2010 at 09:51

In an age when a footballer can bring (and afford) a gagging order on the Press concerning his personal misdemeanours, if only for a few days, then the likelyhood of any of these thieving members of the political stasi that exists in this country having any criminal charges against them, no matter what they do, is unlikely.

The two smug, arrogant Tory twins were the last politicos to taste the inside of the cells (then they got ‘religion’) and since then we’ve had the mass murderer Bliar on the loose – so petty stealing from the electorate is such small fry they’ll get away with it.

Welcome to the UKFraudland4TheElites 2010 – bring on the Olympics!!!

5
Saul February 5, 2010 at 10:00

As with the Chilcot inquiry, why does it come with no surprise when the establishment investigate the establishment and nothing happens?

We need to get back to a system of MP’s actually coming from the constituency in which they serve. As for the major positions ie Chancellor, Defence, Education, Health etc, these should all be sourced from the private sector and be employed by GB PLC.

6
AnonyMouse February 5, 2010 at 10:22

Starmer is a Zanu-Lab stooge. He’ll let them get away with it for sure, just like the lovely Cherie did the other day :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8497365.stm

‘Baronness’ Uddin can breathe easy, it will all be over soon and she can get back to milking the Dhimmi taxpayer fools again.

7
The Slogger February 5, 2010 at 10:32

I was talking to a BBC news bod about this last night. To my surprise, she expressed the view that this is a make or break issue: no respect for parliament or the law + blind reduction of liberties = dictatorship. Either after the election there are big changes in the way we elect and monitor this lot (she said) – or when the wallets are empty, there will be violence.
As she seemed a normal girl of half my age, it quite cheered me up. I think sometimes we overestimate the brain-death of Yoof. Even in the BBC.

xx

8
Majic February 5, 2010 at 11:28

Gone ahead and they are going to prosecute them, Jim Devine is apparently suitably “devastated and distraught” at being caught, sorry at the CPS decision.

Hang on, I’m sure any second now I will have some symp…. no, it’s gone.

9
Thaddeus J. Wilson February 5, 2010 at 11:43

I just knew the Tory would be in the pile. I see the first Labour fixer has gotten off completely, looks like Uddin will escape too. It’s already a huge disappointment.