David Chaytor jailed over false claims

[SimplyTom]

18 months for ?20k false claims - up until this point he was only suspended from the Labour Party!

[RoddersUK]

That'll teach the greedy obnoxious bastard, eh ?

The other fuckers will be wetting themselves now.

[David Johnson]

Excellent news. He deserves everything he has got for putting his snout in the trough and creating a whole series of fraudulent documentation and claims.

Cheers
D

[andy at handiwork]

Up until this point he had not been found guilty of an offence.

[SimplyTom]

but he had admitted to the offense back in December

[one eyed jack]

While I'm sure people will be feeling victorious about this conviction I can't help but feel he still got off lightly.

18 months and his debt written off at the cost of the taxpayer.

I think the judge should have allowed some concession for admittance

This is no mere criminal. He shouldve paid back the money he stole plus a hefty fine and lose his job for breach of public trust.

I think the government wanted him made a public example of. Still, he did the crime so now he must do the time

[one eyed jack]

....Oh yeah, and fuck him up some more by paying the VAT on top too !happy!

[SimplyTom]

He had vowed to pay back all fraudulent money.
But 18 months from a possible 7 years seems too low for the damage to the public he has committed over a number of years of fraudulent claims

[IndianV]

Agree with one eyed jack, seems a pretty light sentence for someone who's admitted defrauding the tax payer out of at least ?20k

Wont do much also to dispel the idea that MPs get preferential treatment over the normal hard working tax payer...I'm pretty sure that the penalty for a ?20k tax fraud, for example, would be a whole lot more severe for the man in the street than 18 months and no obligation to repay...