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| Ex-MEP Peter Skinner jailed for expenses fraud | Ex-MEP Peter Skinner jailed for expenses fraud |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| An MEP who dishonestly claimed almost £500,000 in expenses has been jailed for four years. | An MEP who dishonestly claimed almost £500,000 in expenses has been jailed for four years. |
| Peter Skinner, 56, who was Labour MEP for the South East from 1999 to 2014, was found guilty of three charges after a trial at Southwark Crown Court. | Peter Skinner, 56, who was Labour MEP for the South East from 1999 to 2014, was found guilty of three charges after a trial at Southwark Crown Court. |
| He claimed thousands of pounds for support staff, which actually funded jewellery, restaurants and hotel stays. | He claimed thousands of pounds for support staff, which actually funded jewellery, restaurants and hotel stays. |
| Skinner, of Snodland in Kent, claimed he had been confused over the rules, blaming European Parliament procedures. | Skinner, of Snodland in Kent, claimed he had been confused over the rules, blaming European Parliament procedures. |
| The politician made fraudulent payments of £10,000 a month to his wife from December 2007 until July 2009. | |
| This entitled him to claim secretarial or parliamentary assistance allowance. | |
| He also created a fake letter claiming his father was working for him, to justify his payments of £5,000 every three months, his trial heard. | |
| The fraud eventually added up to £480,000. | |
| He was found guilty of one count of making a false instrument, one count of fraud and one count of false accounting. |