Labour withdraws whip from Elliot Morley

UPDATE: My estimate was about 4 hours early. Elliott Morley has been suspended from the Parliamentary Labour party.

...at 9:53hrs this morning, I estimate. Well that's what should happen. And Kevin Maguire says it should happen and if Mr Maguire has any uses (and it is difficult to think of any these days) it is as a predictor of Labour party behaviour. I hope that the Tory party also withdraw the whip from John Maples.

But back to Eliot Morley. He represents Scunthorpe.

For 21 months he claimed £800 per month on a mortgage he had already paid off. The details are arcane and require rather tedious reading of the Telegraph.

Paying off your mortgage is a life time event. You look forward to it for 25 years. You go out and have a celebration.

Mr Morley is an MP on £60K odd per year. You notice £800 a month on that kind of money. He's not a merchant banker on millions who doesn't notice £100,000 going missing.

And 21 months.

Think about it.

He would have gone through at least one tax period and would have had to make a declaration of earnings to HMRC in that time. And still he didn't notice it? And didn't declare it to the taxman?

This is alleged negligence which should be tested in court for possible, alleged criminality.