Devine faces Labour 'star chamber' and election ban

Published on Sunday 14 June 2009 21:59

A SCOTS Labour MP was today facing the prospect of being barred from standing at the next General Election amid allegations that he misused his parliamentary expenses.

Jim Devine, the MP for Livingston, has struggled to justify claiming 4,483 of public money, apparently for 66 metres of office shelving for his constituency office and electrical repair work at his London flat.

He will face a "star chamber" of Labour officials that has already prevented four MPs from representing the party after a public outcry over their claims.

Mr Devine is expected before the three-person panel this morning in London, though a Labour spokesman said there was a chance this may not happen until tomorrow.

He could not be reached yesterday, but Livingston Constituency Labour Party chairman Tony Boyle said: "I hope for Jim to be still our candidate at the end of the time. We await the outcome."

Mr Devine is said to have claimed 2,326 for joinery and "heavy duty" shelving, and submitted an invoice for the amount to the Commons authorities in the name of Tony Moran, a landlord in his home town of Blackburn, West Lothian.

He also charged 2,157 for electrical work in his London flat, which he claimed was carried out by Mr Moran.

Mr Devine, who vowed to call in the police in an attempt to clear his name, said he would provide the Labour National Executive Committee endorsements panel with photographic evidence of the work. He has suggested he is the victim of a vindictive campaign by a former employee.

Last week, Mr Devine appeared in front of his constituency party to answer questions on the affair, and appeared to win their backing.

He told his local paper that he was confident of being cleared. "I look forward to standing in front of the NEC panel and putting my side of things across," he said. "I just want this boil lanced now."

It comes as Sir Christopher Kelly, the watchdog charged with delivering lasting reform of the MPs' expenses system, admitted he had been "surprised and shocked" to learn of the multitude of questionable claims made by MPs as the scandal unfolded.

Sir Christopher's Committee on Standards in Public Life will tomorrow begin public hearings in its search for greater transparency and better value for money.

It will take evidence from Harriet Harman, Labour's Leader of the House of Commons, and her Tory and Liberal Democrat opposite numbers, Alan Duncan and David Heath.

Sir Christopher announced yesterday that he hoped the committee would complete its work by the time parliament returns in October, after the summer recess.

"How we see our role is basically to clean up the expenses system," he said. However, it would be a "long and difficult process" to restore public trust in parliament, he added.

Despite the Prime Minister's call for a ban on MPs taking second jobs, Sir Christopher said he was mindful that this could deprive the Commons of "experience and diversity" and create a class of professional politicians.

Ms Harman said that MPs with second jobs would, from 1 July, be required to reveal how much they earned, who they were paid by and how much time they spent away from parliament. She hopes new laws will be in place before MPs begin their summer holidays on 21 July establishing a Parliamentary Standards Authority – an external body checking and paying all MPs' expenses.

On Thursday, former communities secretary Hazel Blears will be the first Labour MP to face a motion of no confidence when she goes before her Salford constituency party. Union chief Paul Kenny expects 50 Labour MPs to quit as a result of pressure following their expenses claims.

'A mischievous, larger than life character'

JIM Devine, 56, is known throughout Westminster as a mischievous, larger than life character, as fond of sharing gossip over a pint as popping up to make a point from the green Commons benches.

A former psychiatric nurse who became a health union official with Unison, he was constituency agent to former foreign secretary Robin Cook for 22 years, and inherited his boss's Livingston seat in a 2005 by-election after Mr Cook's sudden death.

Mr Devine is a founder member of the Celtic Supporters' Trust and a keen horseracing fan. But he has shied away from talking about his expenses – and may not be allowed to defend a slim 2,680 majority.