Eric Illsley, who bagged himself £6000 by over-claiming for bills on his parliamentary expenses, is the latest MP to find himself in hot water as the expenses scandal rolls ever onward. The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that the Labour representative for Barnsley South, a seat he has held since 1987, has been summoned to appear in court where he'll be asked to answer three charges under section 17 of the Theft Act 1968 of false accounting, says Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer. Illsley was one of the MPs identified by the Daily Telegraph in June last year for having made false council tax claims, having received over £10,000 for his second home, a South London property, in four years, despite the fact that council tax on the Band C house would have come to £3,996 over the same period. As he claimed regular payments of £200, he did not have to supply receipts in order to receive these amounts. He is alleged to have falsely claimed more than £20,000 in total between May 2006 and April 2008 and will appear at Westminster Magistrate's Court on June the 17th.
So far, three other MPs - all Labour - and one Conservative peer have been charged under the same act. All deny any wrongdoing. Evidence on a total of eight MPs has been handed to the CPS for a decision as to whether prosecution is in the public interest.
No futher details as of yet, but we shall - of course - be keeping a close eye on developments.
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