MP's Expenses: Resignations and Suspensions thread

[AnnO'Neemus]

And Hazel's out of control according to the Torygraph - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...is-out-of-control-Gordon-Brown-is-warned.html

... I hope every last one of them loses their job and gets prosecuted.

Christ, they're really briefing heavily against her aren't they. Classic Mandelson smear campaign.

Last week Miss Blears said she was paying back £13,332 in capital gains tax (CGT) on the £45,000 profit from the sale of a London flat in 2004.

At the time she had declared the property to be her second home with the House of Commons and her main residence for tax purposes – meaning she was not liable for CGT.

Does anyone know what would happen to a regular Joe Bloggs who told the Inland Revenue that that a property they had sold was their main residence, in order to avoid/evade paying Capital Gains Tax... while they were also claiming to their employer that it was their second residence in order to claim expenses from their employer?

Surely, she has two options, either:

* She tells the Inland Revenue that she told them porkies, in which case, pay the tax due (as she has apparently done or is doing), but wouldn't a regular Joe Bloggs also have all their tax records gone over with a fine tooth comb if they had done something as dodgy as that? And wouldn't a regular Joe Bloggs be fined interest for the whole period on top of the amount originally due? And wouldn't they be subject to other penalties? And would the Inland Revenue automatically prosecute a regular Joe Bloggs? Or would they just let them off with a slap on the wrist? I'm guessing that a regular Joe Bloggs would have the book thrown at them.

* She tells the parliamentary authorities that she told them porkies, in which case, she repays all the expenses she fraudulently claimed. And then they call in the authorities and she's prosecuted. I mean, if any Joe Bloggs had fraudulently claimed expenses to the tune of thousands of pounds, to which they weren't really entitled (and it's a case of either she was entitled to the parliamentary expenses OR entitled to not pay Capital Gains Tax, one or the other, so she's done something wrong either way), then surely their company would call in the police and set the fraud squad on them?

Seriously, any other random member of the public would probably be done for fraud or theft, so why should politicians expect to get away with fiddling their expenses?

 

[_pH_]

Gordon Brown has been warned that Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, has become “dangerously out of control” after featuring in the MPs’ expenses scandal and facing reports she will be sacked from the Cabinet.

I'm getting such a hilarious mental image of this

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

A random Google search for 'benefit fraudster jailed' throws up the following:

"A phone-y telesales agent with a penchant for long-haul travel and expensive Jimmy Choos, was jailed this week (Monday) for swindling thousands of pounds in falsely claimed benefits.

The fraudster, who bagged thousands of pounds from taxpayers whilst working under a false identity whilst claiming Housing and Council Tax Benefits, was jailed for 8 months at Inner London Crown Court, after a successful prosecution by Islington Council.

[x] admitted one count of dishonestly making false statements on three housing/council tax benefit forms between July 2003 and December 2005, benefitting from an overpayment of £16,067.90...

In sentencing, Judge Van der Werff described [x] as a "thoroughly dishonest woman" who had "created a false identity with a false National Insurance Number and obtained employment in that identity".

He told [x], "You made dishonest applications for benefits to which you were not entitled."

Making reference to items found in the flat at the time of her arrest, which included a Rolex watch, 37" high definition plasma television and several pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes, the Judge said, "When this came to light, through no assistance of yours, you were living a comfortable lifestyle. There is further evidence from the prosecution to support the contention that the money you obrained from Islington Council was used to pay for a good lifestyle."

http://www.islington.gov.uk/Council/CouncilNews/PressOffice/2006/07/2497.asp

...A Lancashire benefit cheat who admitted making false disability living allowance claims of £8,880 while running a burger van has avoided jail... He was given a 12-month community order and ordered to pay court costs of £75.

The court heard he has repaid £589.81 of the overpaid benefit.

He was seen working at the burger van outside Blackpool FC and at a crazy golf course.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/8040704.stm

* Can anyone explain the difference to me, between claiming benefits while being in paid employment and therefore not entitled to receive them, and claiming 'perks' for a second home while living mortgage and rent free with a partner, or claiming exemptions from capital gains tax while not entitled?

A COMPANY director who stole nearly £50,000 in benefits from Harrow Council has been spared jail...

When claiming the cash, she failed to declare buying houses in Belsize Road, Harrow Weald, Oldborough Road, Wembley, and Morley Crescent West, Stanmore, worth almost £1million.

[x] appeared at Harrow Crown Court yesterday and was given a one-year jail sentence, suspended for two years.

...But further checks showed she had three mortgages on the houses in Harrow and Wembley, and was running Starting Out Ltd in which Mr Ward was also a director.

Following yesterday's sentenced, [x] must pay back £41,990 by the end of November or face going to jail.

http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/localnews/4353123.Fraudster_spared_jail_over_benefits_theft/

...A Sutton woman has been jailed for fraudulently claiming benefits for two years while living in the United States.

[x] pleaded guilty to claiming over £7,000 of housing and council tax benefit while she lived abroad.

After deliberation the magistrate said that this was a crime against hardworking taxpayers and that the case was so severe that only a custodial sentence could be granted. Pryce was sentenced to eight weeks in prison.

Following the investigation and prosecution by Sutton Council, action will now be taken to recover the money.

Cllr John Drage, Executive Member for Resources on Sutton Council, said:

"This was a truly shocking case and at a time when many of our residents are struggling financially, I hope this serves as a warning to those who think they can defraud our taxpayers.

"We will continue to root out those who claim money they are not entitled to and make sure benefits only go to those who need them."

Legislation allows councils to administer a choice of sanctions to benefit offenders or in more serious cases, the ability to prosecute.

Since April 2008 Sutton's Benefit Investigation Team has issued 81 sanctions and successfully prosecuted a further 12 fraudsters. These cases amount to more than £375,000 of taxpayers' money which has been fraudulently claimed.

http://www.sutton.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4762

*Again, can anyone explain to me what the difference is, between claiming money while allegedly living at address A, while in fact living at address B, and MPs who make claims for allegedly living address C while in fact living at address D? Why is it fraud in the first instance, but seemingly 'all above board' in the latter?

...A benefit fraudster caught working for a cleaning company under a different name while claiming £22,485 in Government assistance will take 20 years to pay it back.

[x] who has been claiming benefits for more than a decade, was jailed after she admitted working while fraudulently claiming benefits.

At Northampton Crown Court yesterday, she received nine months imprisonment from Judge Richard Bray who said he could not overlook such large fraud.

http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/22485-fraudster-jailed-for-benefit.5156484.jp

A 39-year-old Hereford man will spend 6 months in jail for defrauding Herefordshire Council of more than £8,744....

[x] committed the fraud over a 12-month period while he worked for Polytec Holden in Bromyard as a forklift truck driver...

A benefit cheat who falsely claimed over £9,000 in council tax benefit and jobseekers allowance has been given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

[x] wrongly claimed the benefit from Dudley Council and the Department for Works and Pensions between April 2004 and April 2007. During the period he did not declare he had savings of nearly £47,000.

Dudley magistrates handed [x] a 16-week jail sentence, suspended for 18 months when he appeared before them on February 7. He was also given a 200 hour community punishment order, to be carried out over the next 18 months, and ordered to pay £175 costs within 28 days...

Councillor Anne Millward, cabinet member for finance, said:

“Housing benefit and council tax benefit is there to help those who are most in need. The savings limit for claiming these benefits is £16,000 and Mr Hanif clearly had savings in excess of this.

“Benefit fraud is not a victimless crime. All taxpayers are victims. We will do everything we can to ensure those entitled to claim benefits get every possible help, but we will take action against those who seek to defraud the system.”

http://www.dudley.gov.uk/welcome/ne...uary-2008/jail-sentence-for-benefit-fraudster

A BENEFIT fraudster who wrung £7,000 from a council has been jailed for 16 weeks.

The man, who has not been named, illegally claimed the council tax and housing benefits after telling Bracknell Forest Council he was no longer seeking job seekers allowance.

Slough magistrates felt he had committed 'a serious offence to the public purse' during a hearing on Thursday, May 8. An appeal was dismissed by Judge Mary Jane Mowat at Reading Crown Court on Friday, May 23, who decided the sentence imposed by the magistrates was appropriate.

Housing leader Cllr Dale Birch said: "This conviction really does prove that crime doesn't pay...

... except if you're an MP fiddling your expenses, in which case it does, because if you get found out, you get to say, "Oops! My bad! It was a genuine mistake, I'm a bit dizzy with my accounts," get a slap on the wrist and repay the money.

And that was from http://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/articles/1/3118

 

[Prince Rhyus]

They are going after Elliot Morley - http://www.elliotmustgo.com/

and Margaret Moran - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=8e7e8e8aea7e79a54a1913b60419c73e&gid=38829573453&ref=search

 

[Prince Rhyus]

The Moat:

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

People should start marching on Parliament now, demanding more resignations and money back. Fucking cunts.

Seriously, why don't we? I'm up for it, who else is coming?

 

[MikeMcc]

A random Google search for 'benefit fraudster jailed' throws up the following:



http://www.islington.gov.uk/Council/CouncilNews/PressOffice/2006/07/2497.asp



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/8040704.stm

* Can anyone explain the difference to me, between claiming benefits while being in paid employment and therefore not entitled to receive them, and claiming 'perks' for a second home while living mortgage and rent free with a partner, or claiming exemptions from capital gains tax while not entitled?


http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/localnews/4353123.Fraudster_spared_jail_over_benefits_theft/



http://www.sutton.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4762

*Again, can anyone explain to me what the difference is, between claiming money while allegedly living at address A, while in fact living at address B, and MPs who make claims for allegedly living address C while in fact living at address D? Why is it fraud in the first instance, but seemingly 'all above board' in the latter?



http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/22485-fraudster-jailed-for-benefit.5156484.jp





http://www.dudley.gov.uk/welcome/ne...uary-2008/jail-sentence-for-benefit-fraudster

... except if you're an MP fiddling your expenses, in which case it does, because if you get found out, you get to say, "Oops! My bad! It was a genuine mistake, I'm a bit dizzy with my accounts," get a slap on the wrist and repay the money.

And that was from http://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/articles/1/3118

Ahhh! It defrauding the SYSTEM, MPs have generated their own system because they are DIFFERENT to the rest of us mere mortals.

 

[Nemo]

Breaking news is that Douglas Hogg won't stand at the next election.

 

[London_Calling]

Two more bite the bullett - could get them from more different part of society:

 

[audiotech]

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

...Quote:
Labour MP Elliot Morley has been suspended from the party after he admitted claiming £16,000 expenses for a mortgage he had already paid off.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown made the announcement as he launched Labour's European election campaign.

Mr Morley called the claim a "mistake" resulting from "sloppy accounting" and said he had paid the money back...

I'm sorry, but if I had been paying, say, 500 or 1,000 or whatever in mortgage interest per month, but I was also claiming 500/1,000, so it was cancelling out, but then my mortgage was paid off, and I stopped paying out 500/1,000 but continued to receive 500/1,000 or whatever it was, I think I'd notice a difference, I honestly believe that I'd realise I was receiving an 'extra' 500/1,000 or whatever a month.

And I'm Aspie (Asperger's Syndrome) and have executive dysfunction traits, which means I'm sh!t at keeping track of bills and bank accounts and payments. But still. If I had an extra 500 or 1,000 to play with every month, I'd be thinking wtf? where did that come from? and I'm a financial retard ffs.

He's talking a load of bollocks.

 

[London_Calling]

Of course he is. Fwiw, I think the two who 'forgot' they'd paid off their mortgage are closest to committing theft. It's not "sloppy accounting" at all, there are four possibilities:

1. He's the first person in the history of the world to not know when he's paid off his mortgage - it's one of lifes big events when you own the deeds to your own home

2. He somehow didn't notice an extra grand appearing in his bank account every month or notice the same when he went to the cash point

3. He's plain thick and isn't fit to be in charge of a cloakroom

4. He's a lying, cheating sack of shit.

 

[pboi]

Blears need to go down. The pasty, smarmy, ginger, bike leather wearing bitch. Gordon needs to get rid of her before she makes an attempted coup anyway

 

[miss minnie]

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Mr Michael Martin MP, will be executed at Tyburn Gallows at 3pm this afternoon.

 

[London_Calling]

Good link, I like the timetable of events:

1330: Richard Littlejohn welcomes the baying crowd and whips them up into a frenzy
1335: Warm-up entertainment begins (sponsored by British Gas)
1336: Katherine Jenkins sings Time To Say Goodbye
1340: A wooden mock-up of Parliament is set on fire (or, if the crowd's really angry, maybe the real thing)
1350: T-Mobile flashmob erupts into spontaneous choreographed fist-clenching, to the tune of We Will Rock You
1355: Sacrifice of convenient scapegoat (will then be turned into kebabs to feed the crowd)
1400: Warm-up show-trials begin (sponsored by Rentokil)
1405: Ordeal by water - Douglas Hogg MP is thrown into the Serpentine, because it's the nearest thing round here to a moat (if he floats, he's guilty) (if he sinks, he's also guilty) (because all MPs are guilty as hell, aren't they, every last one)
1420: Ordeal by fire - John Prescott MP has two toilet seats hung round his neck which are then set alight (if he burns, he's guilty) (if he merely chars, he's toast)
1430: Ordeal by combat - Two obscure backbench MPs with questionable mortgage claims fight to the death over which of them followed the rules better (with commentary by David Dimbleby)
1445: Two Minute Hate (sponsored by the Daily Telegraph)
1447: The Lord High Executioner walks in procession to the gallows, wearing his finest ermine hoodie
1450: The Speaker is transported in an ox-cart from the steps of Primark (bottles may be chucked)
1455: Ceremonial tying of the noose (followed by commercial break)
1500: Hanging (further programmes may run late if extra time is required)
1510: Drawing
1520: Quartering
1530: Moral bloodlust duly cleansed, the British public get back to their mucky money-grabbing lives

 

[derf]

Christ, they're really briefing heavily against her aren't they. Classic Mandelson smear campaign.

Mandy has fuck all to say. Bent bastard should never have come back.
All him being around does is show the public that Brown is a fucking daft twat.

 

[London_Calling]

Thanks for the insight. I take you understand he is effectively Deputy PM at the moment and are familiar with his techniques, sorry strategies?

 

[T & P]

People of Luton: I feel for you

Esther Rantzen 'might stand for MP' on anti-sleaze ticket

 

[derf]

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Mr Michael Martin MP, will be executed at Tyburn Gallows at 3pm this afternoon.

Classic.

 

[Nemo]

Another one not standing at the next election: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/8060423.stm

 

[dennisr]

House of Thieves: We need workers' MPs on a worker's wage

http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/7290

 

[Nemo]

And another one bites the dust (probably) as Tory Sir Peter Viggers is expected to step down after claiming £2,000 to build an island for his ducks. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8060563.stm

 

[London_Calling]

Yep, confirmed.

Updated now, and a little upgraded.

Cheers

 

[London_Calling]

Looking like another one from the HOL, Lord Rennard resigns - awaiting confirmation.

Can I be the first with the motown headline: 'Don't walk away Rennard . . . '

 

[elbows]

Oh my, Anthony Steen's short audio interview is a classic:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8062205.stm

Conservative MP Anthony Steen, who has announced he will not be standing at the next election, has said that his critics are "jealous" because he has a "very, very large house".

Ho ho ho, 'man of the people' Cameron will be facepalming over that one. In terms of reminding people what the Tories are, this is gold dust.

 

[pboi]

haha, what a douche.

is a nice manor tho

 

[London_Calling]

I see Ben Chapman has also gone - trouble updating at the mo, need to contact the authorities . . .

 

[London_Calling]

And Ian Gibson - will update then the technical problem is resolved.

I think the running total is about 13.

 

[teqniq]

calling planet Steen????

LOL

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

There's a Salford bye-election result imminent. If the fascists have had very much success then I would hold Blears personally responsible.