Ex Defra Minister faces criminal charges over expenses

Mr Morley, MP for Scunthorpe, will face two charges in relation to mortgage interest claims of £30,000 of he made on a property in Winterton, Lincolnshire, between 2004 and 2007.

The charges allege he made claims ‘in excess of that to which he was entitled’ and that for some of that period he was claiming when ‘there was no longer a mortgage on that property’.

Mr Morley is one of three Labour MPs and a Conservative peer who will face criminal charges over their expenses. Along with Jim Devine, David Chaytor and Lord Hanningfield, he will be charged under the Theft Act. Anyone convicted faces a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment.

All four have denied any charges. In a joint statement, the three MPs said they were ‘clearly extremely disappointed’ that charges were being brought.

“We totally refute any charges that we have committed an offence and we will defend our position robustly,” the statement said.

The men will be sent a summons to appear on March 11 at City of Westminster magistrates court.

Mr Morley, 57, filled various Ministerial roles at MAFF and Defra between 1997 and 2006 and prior to that had been a Shadow MAFF Minister for a number of years.

The announcement was made on Friday (February 5) by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer.

He said: “In four cases, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges and that it is in the public interest to charge the individuals concerned.”

The announcement came the day after the publication of the report by Sir Thomas Legg into MPs expenses that found half of MPs guilty of over-claiming, resulting in over £1 million having to be paid back.

Of the current Defra Ministerial team, junior Minister Dan Norris was asked to pay back £1,730, while Defra Secretary Hilary Benn and Farming Minister Jim Fitzpatrick were in the clear.

Shadow Defra Secretary Nick Herbert was asked to pay back just under £1,000, while his Lib Dem counterpart Tim Farron faced a bill of £235.

Margaret Beckett (£2,539), Nick Brown (£697), Jim Cunningham (£240), John Gummer (£29,398), Douglas Hogg (£20,639), Jane Kennedy (£2,569) and David Miliband (£808) were among former MAFF and Defra Ministers who faced repayment demands.

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