It was front page news in the B&R this week - Chris Davies, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, has been fined £1,500, plus £2,500 prosecution costs, plus a £120 surcharge, and sentenced to 50 hours unpaid community service to be completed over the next twelve months. The judge added that he could have sentenced the MP to a period in prison, the main consideration in the case being not the financial amount involved, but the breach of trust, as MPs' expenses are a matter of public record - and therefore had to be honest and accurate.
As detailed in the B&R, Chris Davies deliberately forged invoices so that the bill for photographs bought for his office could be split across two funds he was eligible to claim from, as there was not enough money left in one of the funds. He also wanted his office manager to assist him in the fraud. She is currently taking the MP to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal, and she reported the fraud to the Conservative Party.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has now confirmed that there will be a recall petition. This is to determine whether the constituents of Brecon and Radnorshire want Mr Davies to continue as their MP. If 5,303 people (or more) sign the petition, a by-election will be held.
The petition will be available to sign at six places around the constituency, including at the Council Chambers in Hay, from 9th May, and will be open for six weeks.
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If he had any strength of character, who would just resign and have done with it. The amount involved is irrelevant - he misused funds that were provided, in good faith, by his constituents and the wider public.
Fall on your sword, Chris. Man up!
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