Your view: Should shamed MPs face jail?

Sentencing Guidelines Council documents outline how those convicted of such crimes should receive a minimum of 18 months imprisonment.

In cases where between 20,000 and 100,000 is stolen in a pre-planned fraud judges should consider jail terms of between two and five years.

Scunthorpe MP and former agriculture minister Elliot Morley and Bury North MP David Chaytor are accused of claiming false expenses of more than 20,000.

Those convicted of stealing less than 20,000 in similar circumstances could face jail terms of up to three years.

Livingston MP Jim Devine is accused of falsely claiming expenses worth 8,745. The value of the case against Conservative peer Lord Hanningfield is not known.

Solicitor Jeremy Summers, of Russell Jones & Walker, said a judge would have to look at jailing anyone convicted of false accounting.

He said: "The charges are likely to be vigorously defended and, perhaps anticipating this, the CPS has brought charges of false accounting, an offence which is sometimes viewed as being more easy to prosecute successfully.

"In the event that a conviction is secured, realistically the court will have to look at imposing a custodial sentence."

Legal commentator Ian Caplin said holding a public office and breach of trust would be additional aggravating factors.

He said: "On conviction, just by virtue of holding that office, it certainly aggravates it and judges certainly would not rule out custody automatically."

Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer said the four would be charged with breaking section 17 of the Theft Act 1968.

This focuses on criminal suspects who falsify documents and records with a view to making a gain, financially or otherwise.

The law states anyone convicted under this section of the Act could be jailed for up to seven years by a crown court judge.

The accused politicians will soon receive formal summonses ordering them to appear at City of Westminster magistrates' court next month.

In recent years judges have taken a harsh line when dealing with elected politicians and civil servants caught stealing public funds.

London mayor Boris Johnson's former deputy, Ian Clement, was jailed for 12 weeks, suspended for 18 months, last October.

The crooked official admitted using his City Hall corporate credit card to buy lunches for himself and his lover while pretending to meet senior public figures.

District Judge Quentin Purdy told Clement his crime "clearly crossed the custody threshold" and ordered him to undertake 100 hours of voluntary work.

Last November, disgraced former UK Independence Party MEP Tom Wise was jailed for two years after fraudulently claiming 39,000 of parliamentary expenses.

A court heard he boasted openly about "repatriating" money from Europe to Britain as he lodged 3,000-a-month claims for office staff.

He paid his researcher a fraction of the cash and funnelled the rest into a secret account to pay for fine wines, a car and credit card debts.

In 2007, South East England MEP Ashley Mote was jailed for nine months for falsely claiming benefits of more than 65,000.

The father-of-two, who sat as an independent MEP after being thrown out of Ukip, continued to claim income support after his employment circumstances changed.

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