Ex-MP David Chaytor pleads guilty to expenses fraud

Chaytor, who lives at Lumbutts, Todmorden in West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to three charges of false accounting.

He had previously denied the charges and was due to stand trial at London's Southwark Crown Court on Monday.

But he changed his plea today at the Old Bailey.

The move came after legal challenges to stop the trial failed.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court published its reasons for rejecting a claim by Chaytor and two other former MPs that criminal proceedings against them would infringe parliamentary privilege.

Chaytor, a former lecturer, was MP for Bury North, a seat he had held since 1997, when the expenses scandal broke last year.

At the time, he apologised "unreservedly" for what he called an "unforgivable error in my accounting procedures".

He referred himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, John Lyon, and was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party.

Hundreds of MPs were ordered to repay a total of 1.12 million in the wake of the expenses scandal.

Chaytor, 61, was charged in February this year.

He faces a maximum of seven years jail, but is expected to receive a more lenient sentence because of his guilty plea.

Three other former MPs and two members of the House of Lords were also charged by police in relation to their expenses and are due to face trial later.

Chaytor pleaded guilty to false accounting involving a total of 18,350 which he charged on his expenses.

He had claimed 12,925 between 2005 and 2006 for renting a flat in Regency Street, near Westminster, which it turned out he owned the lease to.

He produced a tenancy agreement falsely showing he was paying 1,175 a month rent.

He also falsely claimed between 2007 and 2008 5,425 for renting a home in Castle Street, Bury, which was owned by his mother.

He had produced a false tenancy agreement showing he was paying 775 a month.

The charge said that he was not paying his mother and would not have been allowed to claim for leasing a property from a family member.

A third charge related to falsely charging 1,950 for IT support services in May 2006. That money was never paid to him.

The charge said that he supplied two invoices from a man named Paul France for his professional services "when in fact the services had not been provided or charged for".

Chaytor, who left the courtroom with out commenting, will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on January 7.

He was granted unconditional bail.

James Sturman QC, defending, 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."

Mr Sturman said 13,000 had already been paid.

He asked for a pre-sentence report and said he expected to call character witnesses during the sentencing hearing.

He said that in coverage of the case so far there had been "a total failure to reflect that his case reflects appropriate claims gone about in the wrong way".

Mr Sturman said: "There was some entitlement in his case but he did it in such a way which he concedes by his plea of guilty."

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: "This is a matter of intense public interest."

He said the case was "entirely separate" to the impending trials involving parliamentary expenses.

The Metropolitan Police welcomed the guilty pleas by Chaytor.

A statement said: "The MPS welcomes today's guilty pleas that follow a thorough and detailed investigation of David Chaytor's parliamentary claims whilst Member of Parliament for Bury North."

Others due to face separate trials involving their expenses are former Scunthorpe Labour MP Elliot Morley, former Labour MP for Livingston Jim Devine, former Barnsley Central Labour MP Eric Illsley, Tory peer Lord Hanningfield and Lord Taylor of Warwick, a former Tory peer.

Chaytor was mobbed by photographers as he left the court with his legal team and got in a black taxi. He did not comment.

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.

"I would remind everyone that today is about David Chaytor alone.

"Nothing that happened today should reflect on any defendant in any other case."

David Chaytor gave up lecturing to dedicate his life to politics but his backbench career crumbled as he was swept up in the expenses scandal.

The former Bury North Labour MP became a lightening conductor for public anger after he was accused of claiming money for a mortgage he had already paid off.

The charges sparked a firestorm of public humiliation that culminated in his guilty pleas at the Old Bailey today.

Several days after he was charged with fraud, Chaytor claimed it is "not in my nature to roll over and die" and he would fight for a fair hearing.

Apparently unrepentant, he told a local newspaper that "throwing a few people to the wolves" will not solve deeper problems in the parliamentary system.

And he attacked the media for making "outlandish claims" and suggested his "extremely complex" personal circumstances would refute the allegations.

But nine months later, in the face of overwhelming evidence built on a haul of incriminating paperwork Chaytor held up his hands to fraud.

Chaytor was elected to represent his home town - the marginal Bury North seat - in 1997 after twice standing unsuccessfully in Calder Valley.

He took the seat in his Lancashire birthplace as Tony Blair swept to power and held it until he stood down, after being suspended by Labour, earlier this year.

Born and brought up in the town, he was educated at Bury Grammar School before moving south temporarily to attend the University of London.

He graduated from Royal Holloway in 1970, but his studies continued later with a post-graduate certificate in education from Leeds University in 1976 and gaining an Master of Philosophy at the University of London in 1979.

During his teaching career, he worked in further education colleges in Britain and the United States.

Before his election he held senior posts at the Manchester College of Arts and Technology and Manchester College of Education.

Chaytor, who is married with three children, also served as a councillor in Calderdale for 15 years until he became an MP.

He has cited his main political interests as education, the environment, transport and foreign affairs and served on two select committees.