Tory peer jailed for expenses
Tuesday, 31 May 2011 5:22 PM
By politics.co.uk staff
Former Conservative peer Lord Taylor of Warwick has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for fraudulently claiming expenses.
Britain's first black Tory peer was found guilty of fraudulently claiming £11,277 in parliamentary expenses by a jury at Southwark Crown Court, which found him guilty by an 11-1 majority verdict.
"The expenses scheme in the House of Lords was based on trust," the judge said.
"Peers certified that their claims were accurate. They were not required to provide proof. It was considered that people who achieved a peerage could be relied on to be honest.
"Making false claims involved a breach of a high degree of trust."
The 58-year-old claimed travel costs between his Oxford home and Westminster as well as subsistence for stays in London.
He said he had taken advice suggesting he should accept the payments "in lieu of a salary".
A former barrister and media personality, Taylor listed his home in Oxford while staying in London.
A Metropolitan police spokesperson welcomed the sentence.
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