Jury unimpressed by excuses of Tory peer over expenses scam

A FORMER Tory peer has been found guilty of fiddling his expenses to claim more than £11,000 from the public purse.

Lord Taylor of Warwick falsely filed for travel and overnight subsistence, a jury at Southwark Crown Court decided by a majority of 11 to one yesterday.

The 58-year-old told the House of Lords members' expenses office that his main residence was in Oxford, when he lived in west London.

Taylor, whose first name is John, was the first parliamentarian to be tried and found guilty by a jury over the expenses scandal.

The jury of seven men and five women took just over five hours to reach their majority verdict that Taylor, of Lynwood Road, Ealing, made 11,277.80-worth of claims on various dates between March 2006 and October 2007.

Eleven jurors agreed with the prosecutor Helen Law, who said during the trial: "Lord Taylor did not have a main home in Oxford and he was not entitled to claim as if he did.

"He knew that and he claimed anyway. He did so in a way that he knew would mislead the members' expenses section into making payments he wasn't entitled to. His actions were dishonest."

The property in Oxford was where his half-nephew Robert Taylor lived with his partner Tristram Wyatt, who owned the house.

Taylor said throughout his trial that all he needed was a "family connection" to a property to call it a main residence on his claim forms.

He also maintained that he was following the advice given to him by fellow peers, that nominating a residence outside of the capital was a way to earn money "in lieu of salary". One lord, he said, told him he would be "crazy" not to.

Taylor never stayed in the Oxford property, and had no legal or financial interest in it.

His half nephew told the court from the witness box that he doubted the motives of his relative when he found out he had used his address. Robert Taylor said: "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.

"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."

After the jury foreman delivered the guilty verdicts, Mohammed Khamisa QC, Taylor's defence barrister, urged Mr Justice Saunders to adjourn the case.

The judge said: "I will adjourn the matter, certainly for a report to be prepared.

"I obviously don't want to adjourn it for too long. It's not fair on Lord Taylor."

Taylor was granted unconditional bail and sentencing will take place in due course.

He stood impassively, looking straight ahead as the guilty verdicts were read out.However, on leaving the dock Taylor appeared visibly shaken and steadied himself on the front of the bench.

He slowly left the court room and his legal team ushered him into a side room.

The disgraced lord left the court building about 50 minutes after the verdict under the cover of a black umbrella.

Members of the press asked him if he wanted to comment but he remained silent and got into a waiting black taxi.

ACCESS PENALTY

Former MPs jailed for expenses abuses are set to be stripped of their access rights to the House of Commons.

Ex-members have traditionally been granted passes for the parliamentary estate in recognition of their service to the electorate.

But the Standards & Privileges Committee has indicated that the convention could be dropped for politicians who have brought the House into disrepute.