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Political jailbirds

Michael Crick | 12:40 UK time, Wednesday, 26 January 2011

When was the last time so many British politicians were in jail, or awaiting it?

David Chaytor has just started an 18-month sentence for expenses fraud. And today Tommy Sheridan got three years for perjury.

Eric Illsley and Lord Taylor are awaiting sentence, and others may well follow shortly.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    should have been more? plenty did the house flip and whatnot paying many thousands back? blair's expenses were mysteriously shredded?

  • Comment number 2.

    1..Of course there should be more....and I simply cannot see why Lord Paul and Baroness Udin should not be interviewed with a view to prosecution either....but then the liberal establishment are always very protective of their favourite "communities"....excluding us horrid white British populist plebs....who get maximum publicity and the book thrown at us!

  • Comment number 3.

    Just the tip of the beanstalk!

    There should be more but they will all close ranks. It is unbelievable that Lord Taylor's defence was that everyone else was a thief so it was ok for him to be one! It is the system that is corrupt and it corrupts the people within the system. And the sickening aspect is that he cannot be kicked out of the Lords, so we will still have to call him Lord Taylor when he gets out! The House of Lords has had its day.

  • Comment number 4.

    re the sentencing of Taylor, the judge made some controversial comments to the jury saying...' before you consider your verdict please be aware that this man is a pillar of the community, has led an exempelory lifestyle etc., he may as well said he is JC on earth so biased was the comment. The jury obviously did not swallow it as they returned an eleven to one verdict of guilty on all counts. One shudders to think if a single mother who had stood before him and had embezzled over eleven thousand if his comments would have been so generous. Class is still a big issue in this country. It will be intersting if the sentence handed down matches the terms of imprisonment handed down to the LABOUR MP's found guilty.....interesting...

  • Comment number 5.

    TIME TO REMOVE ANY PART OF GOVERNMENT FROM THAT ROYAL PALACE

    But first we have to SPOILPARTYGAMES.

  • Comment number 6.

    I hear Blair`s expenses claims got "mislaid"!

  • Comment number 7.

    THE MEASURE OF BLAIR - A MARKER FOR BRITAIN (#6)

    On the Web one can view two (maybe more) 45 MINUTE headlines. Also accessible, is Blair's disingenuous comment at Chilcot: "It would have been better to have corrected it in the light of the significance it later took on." The weasel word is 'later' - implying a passage of time. In fact: the impact of the lie was instantaneous.

    That defines Blair, and his years as PM. Sadly, it also defines Westminster politics, and Britain.

    Listen to 'Thinking Allowed' for confirmation of blaggers and blackguards elevated to power.

  • Comment number 8.

    A little contrary to 'Innocent until proven guilty', but maybe it would be best to sling all of 'em in and allow the few who may have an excuse successfully wield a 'get out of jail f... or a lot of personal money' card.

    Harsh, but as the bunch who have presided over so many legal presumptions of guilt - from retroactive taxation to more modest fare - imposed on those they in theory represent, possibly informative. Err on fines more than jail time, and the Gov and lawyers can clean up even more.

    Just had my latest parking offence 'waived', but only after Camden Council was allowed to escalate through fines up to Court proceedings before eventually grasping they were in the wrong. Other than a bit of computer time and admin., this Mafia style extortion was essentially free to them, with no penalty for trying it on.

    I, however, was left in no doubt as to the huge penalties for making time-wasting objections.

  • Comment number 9.

    I appeal most things now...you would be surprised how many times you win....

  • Comment number 10.

    To connect to your Gerry Adams comments, the answer is probably 1918 - when the British government had imprisoned various members of Sinn Fein, who were elected to Westminster in December 1918 but never took their seats (those who were free to do so!). However, the Shinners would have objected to being called 'British politicians', as Mr Adams clearly still does...

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