Lord Hanningfield, aged 70, who served as leader of Essex County Council and as Shadow Minister for Education and Transport, falsely claimed £13,379 in parliamentary expenses for overnight stays in the capital when he was not actually in London. Lord Hanningfield has lodged an appeal.
The judge, Justice Saunders, said at sentencing: “Great trust was placed in peers to be honest in their claims for expenses. The public expects no less of them. Lord Hanningfield and others have broken that trust. The consequences for the reputation of the House of Lords have been serious.”
During the trial it emerged that Hanningfield regularly claimed for overnight stays in London without actually being there. On one occasion, in February 2008, the peer was actually on board a flight to India rather than in London as he claimed. In addition to fraudulently claiming parliamentary expenses for overnight stays in London, he also wrongfully claimed £382 in train fares and £147 in mileage by doubling the seven-mile distance from his house to the train station.
Hanningfield left a paper trial resulting from the use of a chauffeur driven car. Diaries also allowed detectives to reconstruct his schedule.
In court, the former-peer claimed that he had “averaged out” his claims to recoup some of the money he had spent on parliamentary duties and that he had in fact been left out of pocket.
Justice Saunders said: “It may well be true that he was out of pocket, although I do not accept that he was out of pocket to the extent that he claimed.
“He received the privilege of a peerage. He knew, when he accepted a peerage that the job of a working peer was unpaid and he did not have to accept the honour. It is not for me to say whether peers should or should not be paid, but, whatever you think of the scheme, it was not for any peer to take money to which he was not entitled on the basis that he believes he is worth it.”
He said it was regrettable that the fraud conviction would now overshadow Lord Hanningfield’s many years of public service.
“No-one who heard the evidence in this case can have any doubt that Lord Hanningfield worked exceptionally hard as leader of Essex County Council to do the best that he could for Essex according to his political beliefs. He also worked hard for the Conservative Party to further their political agenda in what he considered to be the public interest. He did all this for modest reward compared with others who had similar responsibilities.
“His work was his life; and now at the age of 70, he should have been enjoying a retirement in which he could have expected his achievements to be honoured. Instead he has been convicted of fraud by a jury drawn from the county that he served so long, and it is as an expenses cheat that he will be partly remembered.”
Justice Saunders said that while Lord Hanningfield could not benefit from a guilty plea, he would reduce the length of the sentence as he was suffering from ill health and was diagnosed with clinical depression.
“Imprisonment will be harder for him than for others who are mentally and physically fitter. Also, while others convicted in this series of prosecution will have some chance to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of the public, Lord Hanningfield is less likely to be able to do that because of his age, but it is not impossible that he will,” he said.
Lord Hanningfield is also being investigated by Essex Police’s serious economic crime unit after an internal audit at Essex County Council raised “concerns” over the time Hanningfield was head of the council.
Peter Martin, who succeeded Hanningfield as the head of Essex County Council, said in a statement, “Our own rigorous internal audit revealed concerns over Lord Hanningfield’s expenses while he was leader of this council. We have taken a robust approach to dealing with their findings. In consultation with the chief executive, we have asked Essex Police to investigate the matter.”
Four former Labour MPs – Elliot Morley, Jim Devine, Eric Illsley, and David Chaytor – have already received prison sentences for false accounting in relation to claims for parliamentary expenses. Illsley was sentenced to 12 months. He was freed after 3 months and will have to wear an electronic bracelet for the remainder of his term. Jim Devine and Elliot Morley were both sentenced to 16 months. David Chaytor was sentenced to 18 months but has already been released after having served a quarter of his sentence. The Conservative peer Lord Taylor of Warwick was also sentenced to 12 months for false accounting on May 31st, 2011.
