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| MP left 'devastated' over charges | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Livingston MP Jim Devine has said he was "absolutely devastated" at being charged for falsely claiming parliamentary expenses. | |
| The Crown Prosecution Service announced that the Labour politician had been accused of dishonestly claiming for cleaning services and stationery. | The Crown Prosecution Service announced that the Labour politician had been accused of dishonestly claiming for cleaning services and stationery. |
| Fellow Labour MPs Elliott Morley and David Chaytor have also been charged, along with Tory peer Lord Hanningfield. | |
| The legal move follows the publication of MPs' expenses last May. | The legal move follows the publication of MPs' expenses last May. |
| Mr Devine said he could not understand why new allegations had been raised after he had earlier been investigated and cleared over shelving and rewiring work he had claimed for previously. | |
| Speaking from his home in Blackburn, West Lothian, the MP said: "I am absolutely astonished and devastated at the decision that has been taken today. | Speaking from his home in Blackburn, West Lothian, the MP said: "I am absolutely astonished and devastated at the decision that has been taken today. |
| I don't understand why I was picked on Jim Devine MP | |
| "Two new charges have been brought, both of which are easily explained and both of which I'll be explaining in court." | "Two new charges have been brought, both of which are easily explained and both of which I'll be explaining in court." |
| He added: "I had some 13 witnesses to the shelving and other work and only one person involved in this was questioned." | |
| Mr Devine said he should have been told by the House of Commons why he was facing a criminal case. | |
| "If you look at the Legg report, I'm being questioned over two receipts that amounted to about £8,000. | |
| Expenses claims | |
| "I don't understand why I was picked on," said Mr Devine. | |
| The 56-year-old was elected MP for Livingston in West Lothian in September 2005, following the death of leading politician and former minister Robin Cook. | |
| He had previously been Mr Cook's election agent, and had worked as head of health for the Scottish branch of the public sector union Unison. | |
| DEVINE CHARGES The Act: Charged under Section 17 of the Theft Act 1968Charge One: Between July 2008 and April 2009 Jim Devine dishonestly claimed for cleaning services using false invoicesCharge Two: In March 2009 Jim Devine dishonestly claimed for stationery using false invoices | |
| The Westminster parliament had been due to publish expenses claims of all 646 MPs dating back to 2004 in July last year. | |
| However, this all changed when the Daily Telegraph started publishing details of claims by individual MPs in early May. | |
| A month after the spotlight came on MPs expense claims, Mr Devine was deselected by the Labour Party from standing at the next general election. | |
| After learning the news on Friday, Mr Devine told the media: "I fully expect to be cleared. I've got to consider, to discuss with my lawyers, how I'm going to react to this. | |
| "I've always handed in receipts for expenses for stuff. I've tried to play by the book. | |
| "I made a mistake with the shelving, I accept that. From my side I don't think I've done anything wrong. | |
| "If I had done something wrong I would have allowed the police access to every receipt, to everything. I'm astonished." |