Expenses peer 'hijacked nephew's address'

THE nephew of a former Conservative peer accused of making false expenses claims told a court he was "shocked" and "quite angry" when he heard the politician had used his address as his main place of residence on his claim forms.

Robert Taylor, whose uncle is Lord Taylor of Warwick, told a jury at Southwark Crown Court, London: "I was shocked. I was quite angry, actually, because I had always wondered why he had been quite so friendly, because we didn't on the face of it have a lot in common."

He added: "At the point where we were being doorstepped by the media, I suddenly realised that maybe his wasn't actually a real friendship at all."

The court has heard that the peer submitted forms saying his main residence was in Oxford, where his half-nephew lived, when Lord Taylor actually lived in Ealing, west London.

He claimed for travelling expenses between the cities and for overnight subsistence to cover being in London, the jury has heard.

The prosecution says the peer has agreed that he never stayed at the address in Oxford and had no legal or financial interest in it.

Lord Taylor faces six counts of false accounting, relating to claims he made under the House of Lords members' reimbursement allowance scheme, on various dates between March 2006 and October 2007.

Mr Taylor, a professional photographer, said he had lived for eight years at the house in Oxford, which is owned by his partner, Dr Tristram Wyatt.

He said contact with Lord Taylor had been "sporadic" over the years. Asked what he would have said if his uncle had asked if he could use his address as his main place of residence, he said: "I would say, 'No - why?'"

Dr Wyatt, when asked about his reaction to hearing that Lord Taylor had used the house as his main place of residence, said: "Great surprise."

Asked why, he said: "Because he didn't live there."

He also said he would have said "no" if asked by Lord Taylor whether he could do so.

The prosecution claims that Lord Taylor, 58, of Lynwood Road, Ealing, lied on the forms to get the expenses, and that he was being dishonest when he submitted them. It says he lied by saying he had a main place of residence in Oxford, by making the claims for night subsistence, and for claiming travel expenses for journeys he never took.

Mohammed Khamisa, QC, defending, has said others told Lord Taylor that his claims were "acceptable" because members did not receive a salary.

He has told the jury: "You will hear that others with whom he worked, other peers he spoke to, had all told him that what he was doing was acceptable."

The trial is due to continue today.