FORMER MP Jim Devine was branded a liar by a judge as he was jailed for 16 months for fiddling his expenses.
Devine submitted false invoices totalling £8385 between 2008 and 2009 – "carrying on regardless" even after other politicians' claims had become "front-page news".
Bankrupt Devine became the third MP to be jailed in the wake of the expenses scandal when he was sentenced yesterday at the Old Bailey.
Ruddy-faced and wearing an ill-fitting black suit, Devine seemed a broken man as he stared at the judge from behind the dock's glass screen, awaiting his fate for betraying the public's trust.
As Mr Justice Saunders read the words "16 months' imprisonment", the former Labour MP for Livingston breathed in deeply and blinked repeatedly before being led away to a cell.
The 57-year-old had denied the charges against him, claiming he had acted on advice given with a "nod and a wink" by a fellow parliamentarian in a Commons bar.
His case had been heard at Southwark Crown Court but sentencing was transferred to the Old Bailey – because the presiding judge was hearing another case there yesterday.
In his sentencing, Mr Justice Saunders, who has heard all the expenses cases to date, pointed out the former backbencher made his false claims at the very time when the press was "full of stories" about MPs' expenses and the public was making clear its outrage.
"He well knew the damage that was being caused to Parliament by the expenses scandal but he carried on regardless," said the judge.
While Devine's offences were less serious than those of David Chaytor – the former Labour MP jailed for 18 months in January for falsely claiming more than £20,000 in expenses – Mr Justice Saunders said he "set about defrauding the public purse in a calculated and deliberate way", supporting his claims with forged documents.
"These offences constituted a gross breach of trust which, along with others, had the effect of causing serious damage to the reputation of Parliament."
The judge explained he was satisfied that when the ex-MP made his false claims, between October 2008 and April 2009, he was in serious financial trouble.
He referred to the case of Marion Kinley, the ex-MP's former office manager. She was dismissed by Devine but won her case for unfair dismissal at a subsequent employment tribunal. The ex-MP was ordered to pay her £35,000.
During the trial, Devine said Ms Kinley had paid herself more than £5000 from his staffing allowance without his knowledge. Ms Kinley branded Devine a "habitual liar".
Devine insisted he was not but the jury did not believe him and last month convicted him of two charges of false accounting.
The first of these related to three false claims for cleaning and maintenance work at his London flat, amounting to £2880.
Mr Justice Saunders explained the invoices used were in a false name and said he was sure the work had either not been done or was not paid for by Devine, and so he was "not entitled to any of the money he claimed".
The second charge involved £5505 obtained by the use of false invoices the ex-MP obtained from a printing company for work allegedly done in the course of his parliamentary work. Yet the judge noted: "He hadn't paid any money; he hadn't ordered any goods. The invoices were entirely bogus."
Before sentencing was passed, the former MP's barrister, Gavin Millar, QC, in mitigation, said his client's fraud was "entirely out of character" and he had made a "genuine and heartfelt acknowledgement" of the damage caused by his actions to public confidence in politicians.
He now accepted, "whatever continuing disputes" there were between himself and Ms Kinley, she was not to blame for his crimes.
Mr Millar cited testimonials of good character from fellow politicians and union figures including Scottish Labour MPs Jim McGovern and David Hamilton as well as Gerry Doherty of the Transport and Salaried Staffs' Association.
"For over 30 years he has worked tirelessly to help others, usually the less fortunate and less privileged in society. He was not a self-interested or attention-seeking career politician and never has been," said Mr Millar.
He explained how the case had taken its toll on Devine's finances and health, with the former psychiatric nurse declared bankrupt and suffering from very high blood pressure.
Because Devine had been the only Scottish politician charged over the expenses scandal, he had become the "sole focus of the opprobrium in Scotland and the embodiment of what is known as the rotten Parliament, north of the Border".
Devine, who for many years had been the late Robin Cook's agent, had found it difficult to live at his Livingston home since last autumn, "ducking and diving" around different parts of England and Ireland because of intense attention from the press.
A hearing to decide on the £40,699 legal costs will be held at a later date, but given Devine's financial circumstances he is unlikely to be ordered to pay them.
Devine is likely to serve most of his term in an open prison. With good behaviour he could be out by the autumn.
