MP’s jail term should be more

Until I retired two years ago, I had served on Peterborough City Council for sixty-two consecutive years, twenty as

its Leader.

During that period six members of the council have been sent to prison on terms ranging from three to 18 months whilst they were in office.

Two councillors for receiving bribes relating to Planning offences, one councillor for

claiming mileage and attendance allowances that never existed and three councillors for postal vote fraud. They immediately lost their position, their paid allowances and received a five-year ban for standing in any future elections. In addition, all of them were family men/women and

they lost their livelihoods.

Fifty-seven years ago I was myself a JP and sat with Judges at County Court proceedings and the quarterly local Assizes.

On one occasion we sentenced one young man to 12 months in prison for stealing a handbag, another man received six months for stealing an overcoat from a local dancehall. Both had to serve their full time.

The sentence given to our local MP is not only ludicrous but leaves an unsavoury odour.

Here we have a person, an honourable Member of Parliament, a pillar of society in the local community, a solicitor, a past local councillor for Cambridgeshire County Council, a Shadow Whip in the House of Commons and a practising