Elliot Morley

Last updated

Glanford and Scunthorpe (1987–1997)

As part of its disclosure of expenses of British Members of Parliament, The Daily Telegraph alleged on 14 May 2009 that Morley claimed £800 a month in respect of a property in Winterton, near Scunthorpe, for 18 months after the mortgage ended, and received an overpayment of £16,800 in total. [1]

The Telegraph also alleged Morley let a London flat designated as his main residence to another Labour MP, Ian Cawsey, a close friend and former special adviser. Cawsey named the property as his second home, allowing him to claim £1,000 a month to cover the rent which he was charged by Morley. In November 2007, the newspaper claims Morley 'flipped' his designated second home from his Scunthorpe property to his London flat, and for four months the two men claimed expenses on the same property. [17]

Morley told BBC News that he had repaid the money two weeks before The Telegraph story breaking upon realising he had mistakenly continued claiming for his mortgage payments after the mortgage had been paid off in 2006. [17] On 14 May 2009 he was suspended from holding office in the Parliamentary Labour Party because of this scandal. [17] Morley referred himself to John Lyon, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, in an effort to clear his name. [17] It was reported that this inquiry was put on hold pending a police investigation. [4] On 29 May 2009 he announced that he would not stand for re-election, but refused to resign immediately. [18]

Prosecution

On 5 February 2010, it was reported that Morley would face criminal charges over his expenses, [5] and the Labour whip was subsequently suspended. [19] On 27 May 2010, Morley, David Chaytor, Jim Devine, and Lord Hanningfield (Paul White) appeared at Southwark Crown Court for a preliminary hearing. [20] They faced charges of false accounting under the Theft Act. [5]

Morley eventually pleaded guilty in the Crown Court at Southwark on 7 April 2011 before Mr Justice Saunders, who had presided over the other prosecutions in the Parliamentary expenses scandal. On 20 May 2011, Morley was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment on two counts of false accounting. [2] [3] He served four months in prison – a quarter of the sentence – and was released under the home detention curfew scheme. [6] On 8 June 2011, he was expelled from the Privy Council, the first expulsion since Edgar Speyer in 1921. [21]

Morley was previously a Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers for services to flood and coastal defence. He was expelled from the Institution of Civil Engineers on 4 July 2011, when the Institution's Professional Conduct Panel ruled that due to his breaching of "Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, which require all members to uphold the dignity, standing and reputation of the Institution" by "committing offences of False Accounting in connection with his responsibilities as a Member of Parliament" he should be expelled from the Institution. [22]

Personal life

Morley married Patricia Hunt in 1975 [7] in Hull. They have two children: a daughter (born 1980) and a son (born August 1984).[ citation needed ] He is Honorary Vice President of the Association of Drainage Authorities and Wildlife and Countryside Link. He has an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Lincoln for services to nature conservation. [8]

He is a former President of Hull Teachers Association. [23]

See also

Other Members of Parliament found guilty of fraud during the 2008 expenses scandal:

Notes

  1. ↑ Environment and Agri-Environment (2003–05)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Ainsworth</span> British Labour politician

Robert William Ainsworth is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Coventry North East from 1992 to 2015, and was the Secretary of State for Defence from 2009 to 2010. Following the general election in 2010 he was the Shadow Defence Secretary, but was replaced by Jim Murphy following the election of Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Eric Evlyn Illsley is a former British Labour politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Barnsley Central from 1987 until 2011. He was a Labour Party representative until suspended from the party after being charged with false accounting as part of the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal, and then sat as an Independent. When he pleaded guilty to three counts of false accounting on 11 January 2011, he became the first sitting Member of Parliament to be convicted of a criminal offence in the scandal. Illsley resigned from the House of Commons on 8 February 2011, following his conviction, and was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment on 10 February 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis MacShane</span> British politician (born 1948)

Denis MacShane is a British former politician, author, commentator and convicted criminal who served as Minister of State for Europe from 2002 to 2005. He joined the Labour Party in 1970 and has held most party offices. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Rotherham from 1994 to his forced resignation in 2012.

James Keith Chapman, known as Ben Chapman, is a British Labour Party politician and former civil servant who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wirral South from 1997 to 2010.

David Michael Chaytor is a former British Labour Party politician, who was the member of parliament (MP) for Bury North from 1997 to 2010. He was the first member of Parliament to be sentenced following the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheryl Gillan</span> British politician (1952–2021)

Dame Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Chesham and Amersham from 1992 until her death in 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Secretary of State for Wales from 2010 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Laws</span> British politician (born 1965)

David Anthony Laws is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Yeovil from 2001 to 2015. A member of the Liberal Democrats, in his third parliament he served at the outset as a Cabinet Minister, in 2010, as Chief Secretary to the Treasury; as well as later concurrently as Minister of State for Schools and Minister Assisting the Deputy Prime Minister – an office where he worked cross-departmentally on implementing the coalition agreement in policies - from 2012 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Keen</span> British politician (1937–2011)

David Alan Keen was a British Labour Co-operative politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Feltham and Heston from 1992 until his death in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Wiggin</span> British Conservative politician

Sir William David Wiggin is a former British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Herefordshire, previously Leominster, from 2001 to 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony McNulty</span> British Labour politician

Anthony James "Tony" McNulty is a retired British politician who was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrow East from 1997 to 2010. During his ministerial career, which began in 2003, he was Minister for London and later Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform at the Department for Work and Pensions. He resigned his position on 5 June 2009 after allegations in the press regarding his expenses.

Margaret Mary Moran is a former Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. Moran was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton South from the 1997 general election to 2010. In November 2012, jurors at Southwark Crown Court ruled that she had falsified her parliamentary expenses; she had been unable to stand trial because of mental health issues, but the case was nevertheless heard without her. Her fraudulent claims totalled more than £53,000, the highest amount by any politician in the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton</span> British Labour Co-op politician, life peer

John Steven Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton, is a British Labour and Co-operative politician and a member of the House of Lords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scunthorpe (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Scunthorpe is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Nic Dakin, a member of the Labour Party, when he regained his seat from Conservative Party politician Holly Mumby-Croft during the 2024 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Stuart (politician)</span> British politician

Graham Charles Stuart is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Beverley and Holderness since 2005. He previously served in various ministerial positions under Prime Ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak between 2018 and 2024.

James Devine is a former Labour Party politician in Scotland. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Livingston from 2005 until 2010 and Chairman of the Scottish Labour Party between 1994 and 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal</span> 2009 British political scandal

The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal that emerged in 2009, concerning expense claims made by members of the British Parliament in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords over the previous years. The disclosure of widespread misuse of allowances and expenses permitted to members of Parliament (MPs) aroused widespread anger among the UK public and resulted in a large number of resignations, sackings, de-selections and retirement announcements together with public apologies and the repayment of expenses. Several members, and former members, of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords were prosecuted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment.

Kingston upon Hull College of Education was founded in 1913 as the "Hull Municipal Training College". The college had numerous name changes until September 1976 when it merged with the Hull College of Higher Education, which ultimately formed part of the University of Lincoln. The stimulus for the formation of the college was in response to a shortage of certified teachers in the city's schools. The college-trained teachers and educationalists for the city and beyond followed an ethos which was primarily set by Cyril Bibby, principal between 1959 and 1977. The college's first principal was Helen Todd.

<i>R v Chaytor</i> 2010 judgment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

R v Chaytor and others [2010] UKSC 52 was a 2010 judgment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The case concerned the trials of three former Members of Parliament for false accounting in relation to the parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009.

References

  1. 1 2 Winnett, Robert; Watt, Holly (13 May 2009). "Elliot Morley claimed £16,000 for mortgage that did not exist: MPs' expenses". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Ex-MP Elliot Morley jailed for expenses fraud". London: BBC News. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Ex-MP Elliot Morley pleads guilty to expenses fraud". BBC News. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  4. 1 2 Sharma, Sarah (17 October 2009). "Tax affairs of 27 MPs under investigation". The Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 "Three MPs and one peer to be charged over expenses". BBC News. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Expenses fraud ex-MP Elliot Morley freed from jail". BBC News. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Elliot Morley (Ex-MP)". Westminster Parliamentary Record. Westminster Parliamentary Research LLP. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Climate Change 07 – Speaker Biographies". Public Service. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  9. ↑ "Parliament's biggest expenses cheat, who started career in Hull, faces jail". This is Hull and East Riding. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  10. ↑ "Environment Minister Elliot Morley Announces Move to Ensure Government Sourcing of Legal and Sustainable Timber". Illegal-logging.info. 9 November 2004. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "Environment Minister Elliot Morley launches WaveNet project". Cefas. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  12. ↑ "Written Ministerial Statement by Elliot Morley, Minister of State for Environment and Agri-Environment announcing the Government's intention to set up a Government Decontamination Service". DEFRA. 25 January 2005. Archived from the original on 2 March 2005. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "Privy Council Appointment of Elliot Morley". Number10.gov.uk. HM Government. 19 December 2006. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  14. ↑ "No. 59820". The London Gazette . 14 June 2011. p. 11257.
  15. ↑ "How your MP voted on the FOI Bill". The Times. 20 May 2007. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  16. ↑ "Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2006–07". UK Parliament website. HM Government. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "Brown suspends mortgage claim MP". BBC News. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  18. ↑ "Eliot Morley to stand down as MP". BBC News. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  19. ↑ Press Association (8 February 2010). "Labour suspends fraud charge MPs". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  20. ↑ "Four in court over expenses". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  21. ↑ McSmith, Andy (9 June 2011). "Elliot Morley's Privy Council expulsion is first for 90 years". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  22. ↑ "ICE kicks-out disgraced MP Elliot Morley". Construction Enquirer. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  23. ↑ "Elliot Morley MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary". Government News. 14 June 2001. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
Elliot Morley
Elliot Morley, March 2008.jpg
Morley in 2008
Minister of State for Climate Change and the Environment [lower-alpha 1]
In office
13 June 2003 –8 May 2006
In office
11 June 1987 –12 April 2010
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Glanford and Scunthorpe
1987 – 1997 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Scunthorpe
1997 – 2010 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.