CHRISTMAS IN THE POKEY FOR LITERARY PRIZE JUDGE DENIS

I note that Denis MacShane was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment for stealing £13,000 of taxpayers’ money.

He pleaded guilty to false accounting, submitting 19 fake receipts for "research and translation" services. He used the money to fund a series of trips to Europe, including one to judge a literary competition in Paris.

 

He had been Europe Minister under Tony Blair, and gave a multi-language reply to the judge as he handed down the sentence, saying that McShane would have to serve at least half of the sentence: “Cheers”, he said, followed by “quelle surprise”. How European!

I suppose we should be grateful that at least he has had the guts to face his trial and sentence without springing a nervous breakdown, or Alzheimer’s on us, but I find it disconcerting, and worrying that a lad whole stole two bottles of water after one of the riots in London a couple of years ago, got exactly the same sentence as this man who wilfully stole £13,000.

THE RT. HON. DENIS MACSHANE, A GARAGE, AND £125,000

Denis MacShane looks as if he may be joining the hat woman Moran in the dock very shortly.

The Commons authorities have reported Den boy to the police after studying his claims for office space in his constituency which turned out to be his garage. At £20,000 a year (totalling some £125,000), paid to himself, it turned out to be a rather expensive garage...well, expensive for us, not him.

He also appears to have favoured his family when it came to getting work done. He submitted more than a dozen invoices for “research and translation” from an organization called the European Policy Institute, which just happens to be run by his brother.

As Europe minister, you would have thought that he would have been able to get any research or translating done for him by people in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or by the government’s own EU offices in London.

He also claimed for 8 laptops in 3 years... I’m pretty sure that even working as hard as I’m sure Mr MacShane did, no one could wear out that many computers in such a short time. But of course he could have been taking after his boss, Mr Brown, but throwing laptops instead of Nokias!

MacShane is thought to be the first MP referred to the police by parliament. Let’s hope he’s not the last.

Just one last thought. When I was researching some pictures for this post I noticed that MacShane is in fact the Rt. Hon. Denis MacShane. Is it not time, given the dishonour that these people have brought upon themselves, upon the London parliament and upon the UK, that these ridiculous honorifics be ditched? They are not honourable nor are they right honourable. They shouldn’t be so addressed. If there is no mechanism for removing them from the Privy Council, then there should be.

Update

Mr MacShane is no longer a Labour MP having had the whip removed. (Hat tip to Guido)

Pics: Mr MacShane and his garage (a coat of pain wouldn't have gone amiss at £250K, don't you think?)