MP Expenses Fraud _ Personal View _ Jail

MP Expenses Fraud - Personal View - Jail
by Ashley Clark, Director, Need An Adviser.

The current debacle at Westminster that shames our country and the 'witch hunt' for the House Speaker, Michael Martin, is quite frankly embarrassing.

This Government was elected to a position of trust by the people to represent the people and to do the peoples will.  Yet again, all MP’s, on both sides, are failing to do the people’s bidding.

The Speaker, having spent thousands in public money trying to keep MP expenses private, should go.

MP’s who are have defrauded the system by having non-legitimate expenses such as dog food, mortgage payments on houses that have no mortgage, gardening and tree experts, should be investigated.  

MP’s should be treated in the same way they expect benefit fraudsters or any other that steals public money.  

The following scale may help MP’s and Party Leaders decide what should happen.

• JAIL - £22,000 Fraud - May 2007.  Osmond Kean of Cotgrave was sentenced at Nottingham Magistrates Court on 8 May for benefit fraud.  He obtained over £22,000 in benefits from Rushcliffe Borough Council that he wasn’t entitled to and received a 4-month jail sentence. 
• JAIL - £43,000 Fraud - Mar 2009. Shashi Bacheta, 52, was sentenced to 21 months at Swansea Crown Court, while Jeffrey Cole received nine months.  Bacheta, of Swansea, admitted 16 counts relating to benefit and Cole, 58, admitted four charges which were together worth about £43,000. 
• JAIL - £25,000 Fraud - April 2009. Sally Boswell, 51, A Maidenhead woman who received more than £25,000 in housing and council tax benefit overpayments was sentenced to four months in jail when she appeared at Reading Crown Court on Friday 24 April.
• JAIL - £6,000 Fraud - April 09. Paul Russell of Shirebrook has received a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 15 months for benefit fraud.  Convicted by Chesterfield magistrates on for falsely claiming more than £6,000 in housing benefit, Council Tax benefit and Jobseekers' Allowance while working as a security guard for a local company between July 2007 and April 2008. 
• COMMUNITY SERVICE 160 Hours - £6,000 Fraud - April 09. A Scottish woman who defrauded the state out of over £6000 worth of benefits has been ordered to carry out community service.  Linlithgow Sheriff Court told her one of the reasons he hadn’t jailed her was because it would cost the taxpayers even more money to keep her inside.  Jean Cherry claimed £4875.72 of Income Support between April 2005 and December 2007 when she had a job as a cleaner in Fauldhouse.  The 58 year old also received £891.05 in housing benefit and £264.35 in council tax benefit.

Are MP's better than the people?  Should MP's be treated differently?  I suggest no.  It may not be palatable and it may cause more embarrassment to the Government.  Perhaps the problem is too big?

This article represents the personal views of Ashley Clark and not that of Need An Adviser.com.

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