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Expenses trial: 'Other peers were over-claiming' | Expenses trial: 'Other peers were over-claiming' |
(2 days later) | |
A peer on trial over expenses has said he claimed to stay overnight in London while actually returning home "because all the other peers were doing it". | A peer on trial over expenses has said he claimed to stay overnight in London while actually returning home "because all the other peers were doing it". |
Former Essex County Council leader Lord Hanningfield, 70, denies six counts of false accounting. | Former Essex County Council leader Lord Hanningfield, 70, denies six counts of false accounting. |
He told jurors he was "doing the job of four frontbenchers" and did not have "an extravagant lifestyle". | He told jurors he was "doing the job of four frontbenchers" and did not have "an extravagant lifestyle". |
He said he claimed expenses to care for his dog because the pet was "the only thing I have in my life outside work". | He said he claimed expenses to care for his dog because the pet was "the only thing I have in my life outside work". |
Lord Hanningfield, who is appearing at Chelmsford Crown Court under his name Paul White, was suspended from the Parliamentary Conservative Party and stood down as a frontbench business spokesman in the House of Lords when he was charged over his expenses. | Lord Hanningfield, who is appearing at Chelmsford Crown Court under his name Paul White, was suspended from the Parliamentary Conservative Party and stood down as a frontbench business spokesman in the House of Lords when he was charged over his expenses. |
Cross-examined on Tuesday he was asked why he had claimed £27,000 to pay an assistant whose salary was £12,000. | Cross-examined on Tuesday he was asked why he had claimed £27,000 to pay an assistant whose salary was £12,000. |
'No savings' | 'No savings' |
The peer said MPs could claim up to £130,000 a year for staffing, but there was no such allowance for peers and he had claimed extra in some categories because of losses in others. | The peer said MPs could claim up to £130,000 a year for staffing, but there was no such allowance for peers and he had claimed extra in some categories because of losses in others. |
Asked if he had made claims for overnight stays and travel in London, when he actually returned to Essex, because he felt the system was unfair he said: "I did it because all the other peers were doing it. I do know other peers who made similar claims but I will not name them." | Asked if he had made claims for overnight stays and travel in London, when he actually returned to Essex, because he felt the system was unfair he said: "I did it because all the other peers were doing it. I do know other peers who made similar claims but I will not name them." |
Prosecutors say he never stayed overnight in London at the time of the claims between March 2006 and May 2009. | Prosecutors say he never stayed overnight in London at the time of the claims between March 2006 and May 2009. |
But the peer told the court he saw the money as a "living-out-of-London allowance" rather than overnight subsistence. | But the peer told the court he saw the money as a "living-out-of-London allowance" rather than overnight subsistence. |
And he said he had not claimed back tens of thousands of pounds for meals and expenses to which he was entitled over his 40-year career, and had spent far more on the public than he had ever claimed. | And he said he had not claimed back tens of thousands of pounds for meals and expenses to which he was entitled over his 40-year career, and had spent far more on the public than he had ever claimed. |
"I do not lead an extravagant lifestyle, most of my clothes are from Marks & Spencer, I enjoy the occasional glass of wine but that's about it. I have no savings, no stocks and shares, nothing like that," he said. | "I do not lead an extravagant lifestyle, most of my clothes are from Marks & Spencer, I enjoy the occasional glass of wine but that's about it. I have no savings, no stocks and shares, nothing like that," he said. |
He was also asked whether it had been appropriate to claim for someone to walk his pet, a Bernese mountain dog called Jefferson, but became emotional as he told the court the animal was "crucial to my life". | |
Earlier in the proceedings, he said: "As I lived alone I wouldn't survive without my dog - it's someone I could talk to and walk with." | Earlier in the proceedings, he said: "As I lived alone I wouldn't survive without my dog - it's someone I could talk to and walk with." |
On Monday the peer told the trial he had "quite honestly assumed" he could claim the maximum for overnight stays because most other peers did so. | On Monday the peer told the trial he had "quite honestly assumed" he could claim the maximum for overnight stays because most other peers did so. |
The trial has heard he receives the state pension and a small agricultural pension of £120 a month - although he would be entitled to a local government pension for his 40 years on Essex County Council he had "never got around to filling in the forms". | The trial has heard he receives the state pension and a small agricultural pension of £120 a month - although he would be entitled to a local government pension for his 40 years on Essex County Council he had "never got around to filling in the forms". |
The trial continues. | The trial continues. |