header-logo header-logo

Judge rules on privilege

18 June 2010
Issue: 7422 / Categories: Legal News
printer mail-detail

Three Labour MPs and a Tory Peer accused of false accounting over their expenses claims cannot invoke Parliamentary privilege and could now face a criminal trial, the Crown court has held.

Conservative Peer Lord Hanningfield and former Labour MPs Elliot Morley, David Chayter and Jim Devine all deny theft by false accounting.
Delivering his judgment at Southwark Crown Court last week, Mr Justice Saunders rejected arguments that only Parliament could hear their case. He said he could see “no logical, practical or moral justification for a claim for expenses being covered by privilege” adding that he could  see “no legal justification for it either”.

Saunders J went on to criticise misconceived comments about the case in the media and from politicians.

“It has been common ground during argument that, if privilege does cover the subject matter of the indictment, it is the privilege of Parliament and not the privilege of any individual member,” he said.

“Therefore, even if the defendants had wished to waive privilege they could not have done so, and comments from prominent politicians to the effect that they could, were misconceived.”

Had the defence not submitted arguments on the basis of privilege, he said, he would have asked for independent counsel to be instructed to ensure the issue was properly argued. Permission was given to appeal.
 

Issue: 7422 / Categories: Legal News
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll