Privilege

Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine all charged last week with multiple offences under the 1968 Theft Act could face up to seven years in prison.

However, the three MPs have sought to argue that their behaviour is covered by Parliamentary privilege.

This is a legal convention dating back to the seventeenth century which states that MPs are responsible for policing their own affairs.

The MPs therefore claim they should be disciplined by parliament and not face criminal trials.

But Parliament's most senior lawyer, Michael Carpenter, who is expected to be a key figure in the trials of three MPs accused of abusing their expenses and who has been studying the limits of privilege for the past few weeks, is believed to have concluded that it does not cover expense claims.

He is thought to have been approached by the Crown Prosecution Service and agreed to appear in court to state his view.

Source: Telegraph

Update:

SCUNTHORPE MP Elliot Morley is to let his lawyers decide whether Parliamentary privilege laws should keep his expenses case out of the criminal courts.

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