Ex MEP is jailed for four years over £100k claims fraud
A former Labour Member of the European Parliament who falsely claimed more than £100,000 in expenses and allowances has been jailed.
Peter Skinner, of Recreation Avenue, Snodland, will spend four years behind bars after lavishing taxpayers’ money on himself when it should have been used to cover staff costs.
The 56-year-old splashed the cash on a number of luxuries, including a Land Rover Discovery for his ex-wife and a honeymoon to the United States and Hawaii after his second marriage.
He also used the money to pay monthly maintenance payments as part of his divorce settlement.
He was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court last Friday having previously been found guilty of one count of fraud, one count of false accounting and one count of making a false instrument.
The court heard how officers from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate launched an investigation in December 2010 when they became aware of a potentially fraudulent invoice relating to consultancy work Skinner claimed had been provided by his father.
It was later established that the document, which authorised payments of £5,000 to his father’s business every three months, contained false signatures.
Investigators also found numerous examples of Skinner spending money on himself and others.
Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Adrian Brown said: “Peter Skinner served as an MEP for 20 years and has badly let down those who supported and trusted him throughout his time in office.
“He abused his position, diverting significant sums of public money from legitimate parliamentary use to enhance his own lifestyle.”
Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ”Taxpayers will be pleased to see justice done as someone who stole vast amounts of their money is sent to jail.
“Skinner’s case highlights the shameful lack of accountability and transparency in the Euro- pean Parliament’s expenses system, which is clearly open to abuse.
“In the same way that the 2009 MPs’ expenses scandal prompted change at Westminster, this case ought to be a wake-up call for the authorities in Brussels.
“Taxpayers will also want to know how much of their money they are going to recover from this disgraced former MEP.”