Tom Wise (politician)

Last updated

It is no exaggeration to say that you had hardly got your feet beneath your desk as an MEP before you were planning to defraud the parliament to which you were elected and the people you were elected to serve. This was very deliberate and blatant dishonesty. You did not fall into this offence as a result of some unfortunate combination of unforeseen circumstances which happened to suddenly present you with temptation. You knew the system of expenses inside out and this was a claim you devised and planned with some care.

The judge added that, in addition to jail, Wise would also have to pay £30,000 towards the prosecution's costs.

Personal life

Wise is married to Janet and, until his imprisonment, lived in Linslade near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire. He has two adult children. [3]

Wise has a developed interest in wines, having followed courses arranged by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and has reached "the level just below Master of Wine". [43]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK Independence Party</span> British political party

The UK Independence Party is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest party representing the UK in the European Parliament. The party is currently led by Neil Hamilton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Farage</span> British broadcaster and former politician (born 1964)

Nigel Paul Farage is a British broadcaster and former politician who was Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Brexit Party from 2019 to 2021. He served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 1999 until the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union in 2020. He was the host of The Nigel Farage Show, a radio phone-in on the Global-owned talk radio station LBC, from 2017 to 2020. Farage is currently the Honorary President of Reform UK and a presenter for GB News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Corbett</span> Former Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party

Richard Graham Corbett CBE is a former British politician who served as the final Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP), from 2017 to 2020. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Merseyside West from 1996 to 1999 and then for Yorkshire and the Humber from 1999 to 2009, when he lost his seat, and again from 2014 to 2020. He attended Shadow Cabinet meetings and was a member of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Helmer</span> British politician and businessman

Roger Helmer is a British politician and businessman. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands region from 1999 to 2017. Before becoming an MEP, he was a business executive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerard Batten</span> Former leader of the UK Independence Party

Gerard Joseph Batten is a British politician who served as the Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2018 to 2019. He was a founding member of the party in 1993, and served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London from 2004 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godfrey Bloom</span> British politician

Godfrey William Bloom TD is a former British politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber from 2004 to 2014. He was elected for the UK Independence Party in the European elections of 2004 and 2009, representing UKIP until September 2013, when UKIP withdrew the party whip from him. He then sat as an Independent until the end of his term of office in May 2014. Bloom resigned his UKIP party membership on 13 October 2014.

Ashley Mote was a British politician who was a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 2004 to 2009. Elected representing the UK Independence Party, he became a non-inscrit one month into his term after UKIP withdrew the whip from him due to investigation into his expenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence/Democracy</span> Political group in the (sixth) European Parliament (2004–2009)

Independence/Democracy (IND/DEM) was a Eurosceptic political group active during the 2004–2009 term of the European Parliament. The group was the successor to the Europe of Democracies and Diversities (EDD) group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Carswell</span> British politician

John Douglas Wilson Carswell is a British former politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 2005 to 2017, co-founded Vote Leave and currently serves as president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Campbell Bannerman</span> British Conservative Party politician

David Campbell Bannerman is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England from 2009 to 2019. He is currently Chairman of The Freedom Association. He served as Deputy Leader of UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 until 2010, when he was replaced by Paul Nuttall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom</span> European Parliament elections in the United Kingdom

The 2009 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009. The election was held concurrently with the 2009 local elections in England. In total, 72 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom using proportional representation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marta Andreasen</span> Argentine-born Spanish accountant

Marta Andreasen is an Argentine-born Spanish accountant. She was employed in January 2002 by the European Commission as Chief Accountant, and raised concerns about flaws in the commission's accounting system which she felt left it vulnerable to potential fraud. Elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in the 2009 election, she defected to the Conservative Party in February 2013. She lost her seat in the 2014 European Parliamentary election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikki Sinclaire</span> British politician (born 1968)

Nicole Sinclaire is a British politician and former leader of the We Demand a Referendum Party who served as a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands from 2009 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Mackinlay</span> British Conservative politician

Craig Mackinlay is a Conservative Party politician and businessman. Since May 2015, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Thanet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 UK Independence Party leadership election</span> United Kingdom independence party (UKIP) leadership election

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) held a leadership election in 2009, with ballots closing on 26 November. The election was won by Malcolm Pearson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom</span> Election

The 2014 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2014 European Parliament election, held on Thursday 22 May 2014, coinciding with the 2014 local elections in England and Northern Ireland. In total, 73 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom using proportional representation. England, Scotland and Wales use a closed-list party list system of PR, while Northern Ireland used the single transferable vote (STV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janice Atkinson</span> British politician

Janice Ann Atkinson is a former British politician who was a Member of the European Parliament for the South East England region. She formerly represented the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and later sat as an independent: she was elected in 2014, second on the list for the region behind Nigel Farage. In March 2015, she was expelled from UKIP for "bringing the party into disrepute" after her chief of staff was recorded trying to fraudulently inflate her expenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence from Europe</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

Independence from Europe was a minor, Eurosceptic political party in the United Kingdom. The party was first registered in June 2012 but remained inactive until it was launched in October 2013 by sole party leader Mike Nattrass, a disaffected member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). It had no official political representation at the time of its dissolution in November 2017, but previously had one Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and three Councillors, all of whom were once members of UKIP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Coburn (politician)</span> Brexit Party politician

David Adam Coburn is a Scottish politician and businessman who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Scotland from 2014 to 2019. A former member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Coburn was the leader of UKIP Scotland from July 2014 until December 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy</span> Political group in the European Parliament

Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy was a Eurosceptic and populist political group in the European Parliament. The EFDD group was a continuation for the Eighth European Parliament of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group that existed during the Seventh European Parliament, with significant changes to group membership.

References

  1. 1 2 Howe, Melvyn (6 November 2009). "MEP's pounds 36,000 expenses rap". Liverpool Daily Post. p. 16.[ dead link ]
  2. "Thomas Wise". La Quadrature du Net . 21 November 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Tom Wise MEP". 12 July 2004. Archived from the original on 12 July 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  4. "New Euro MP with a full-bodied position". Luton Today. 24 June 2004. Archived from the original on 12 July 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  5. Knowles, Alan (9 December 2004). "News Release from the office of Tom Wise MEP for the Eastern Region". Archived from the original on 22 August 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  6. Cheston, Paul (5 November 2009). "MEP faces jail after admitting expenses scam". London Evening Standard . Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  7. "Official Website of Tom Wise MEP". 13 July 2004. Archived from the original on 13 July 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  8. "General Election: How the nation voted". London Evening Standard . 6 May 2005.
  9. "Tom Wise MEP Official Website". 21 November 2004. Archived from the original on 31 July 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  10. Knowles, Alan (16 December 2004). "16th December 2004: Tom Wise MEP condemns cruelty to animals in transit in his maiden speech to EU Parliament". Archived from the original on 31 July 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  11. Wise, Tom (1 July 2005). "Patents harm software". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  12. Farage, Nigel; Nigel Farage (11 May 2008). "Tom Wise MEP: a statement". United Kingdom Independence Party . Archived from the original on 26 December 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  13. "MEP arrested on fraud allegation". BBC News. 28 June 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  14. Astié, Pierre; Breillat, Dominique; Lageot, Céline (30 March 2007). "Repères étrangers" (PDF) (in French). University of Poitiers . Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  15. Caldwell, Christopher (9 January 2005). "The Anti Europeanist". The New York Times . Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  16. "European Parliament Debates Note Tuesday, 25 September 2007, Strasbourg". European Parliament. 25 September 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  17. Lewis, Alex (22 April 2009). "MEP facing criminal charges will not stand again". Watford Observer. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  18. "Controversial MEP aims for Westminster". Bedford Times & Citizen. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  19. 1 2 3 Foggo, Daniel (25 February 2007). "UKIP in embezzlement scandal". Sunday Times . London. p. 1. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  20. Foggo, Daniel (30 October 2005). "MEP in wage row will refund pounds 21,000". The Sunday Telegraph . p. 15.
  21. Foggo, Daniel (4 March 2007). "UKIP covered up embezzler's trail". Sunday Times . London. p. 10. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  22. Foggo, Daniel (8 November 2009). "The battle to nail an MEP fraudster". Sunday Times . London. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  23. Foggo, Daniel (28 February 2007). "MEP 'bought car with taxpayers' funds'". The Times . London. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  24. Charter, David (1 March 2007). "UKIP in disarray after MEP is suspended over fraud allegation". The Times . London. p. 20. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  25. Foggo, Daniel (8 April 2007). "UKIP man used public cash to gag accuser". Sunday Times . London. p. 20. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  26. "Euro MP arrested". Hemel Gazette. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  27. "British MEP is bailed after police arrest him on suspicion of fraud". Independent on Sunday . 22 June 2008. p. 30. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  28. Foggo, Daniel (22 June 2008). "British MEP arrested over fraud claims". Sunday Times . London. p. 5. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  29. "CPS advises charges against MEP Tom Wise and Researcher". Crown Prosecution Service. 20 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2 September 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  30. "British MEP is charged with fraud". BBC News. 20 April 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  31. 1 2 Charter, David; Gibb, Frances (21 May 2009). "MEP Tom Wise charged with fiddling accounts and money laundering". The Times . London. p. 5. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  32. "MEP denies charges". Luton: Luton Today. 1 May 2009. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  33. "MEP 'cheated taxpayer out of thousands in expenses scam'". Birmingham Post . 28 April 2009. p. 19. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  34. "MEP in court over expenses claims". Leighton Buzzard Observer. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  35. Howe, Melvyn (3 November 2009). "Ex-MEP 'fiddled expenses to clear his debts'". The Independent . Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  36. Savage, Michael (6 November 2009). "MEP's pounds 36,000 expenses rap". The Independent . p. 18. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  37. "Exes MEP's facing jail". Daily Mirror . 6 November 2009. p. 14. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  38. Sherwin, Adam (6 November 2009). "Tom Wise, former MEP, facing jail for £30,000 expenses fraud". The Times . London. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  39. "Ex-MEP admits to expenses racket". BBC News. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  40. "Expenses fraud MEP sent to jail". London Evening Standard . 11 November 2009. p. 2. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  41. "MEP jailed over expenses fiddle". BBC News. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  42. Hines, Nico (11 November 2009). "Tom Wise, former MEP, jailed for £39,000 expenses fraud". The Times . London. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  43. "Speech in the European Parliament, 15 June 2006". Official Website of Tom Wise MEP. 15 June 2006. Archived from the original on 17 May 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
Tom Wise
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
for East of England
In office
10 June 2004 4 June 2009