Devine: 'I'm entitled to legal aid'
JIM Devine has defended his decision to claim legal aid to fight criminal charges over fiddling his expenses – because he is out of work.
The 57-year-old, barred by Labour from standing for re-election as Livingston MP because of his expenses claims, said he was entitled to help from the state in his upcoming criminal trial because he is now unemployed.
All Members of Parliament ceased to be MPs on Monday, when parliament was formally dissolved ahead of the general election on 6 May.
There was an outcry after court officials announced on Monday that Mr Devine and two fellow Labour MPs, Elliot Morley and David Chaytor, also charged over their expenses, had been granted legal aid to fund their defence.
But Mr Devine said: "I have a legal bill for just over 14,000 sitting in my living room at the moment. As of Monday I have been unemployed and, after being means tested, I am entitled to legal aid.
"I have also already paid 4,000 so far, meaning my legal costs are close to 20,000, so nothing is free for me."
MPs normally receive a "resettlement grant" of up to 100 per cent of their 64,766 salary when they leave the Commons in place of a redundancy payment – the exact amount is determined by their age and length of service – but the grants for Mr Devine and the two other Labour MPs charged over their expenses have been frozen pending the outcome of their trial.
Mr Devine, an MP since 2005, will also eventually be entitled to a pension based on his length of service.
The revelation that Mr Devine is to get legal aid has left a bitter taste in the mouths of some Livingston constituents.
Charlie Tait, 63, a retired council worker from the town, said: "It's awful. They get 65,000 a year and they're entitled to legal aid? It's abysmal. If MPs were a product you bought from a shop, you would return them as not fit for use."
Mother-of-three Margaret Murphy, 45, from Ladywell, said the whole expenses saga has even put her off voting in the general election.
She said: "I'm not happy about it. The government is a law unto itself when it comes to things like this.
"It's just not right but what can you do about it? You can shout about it but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter because they're all the same.
"It's unfair. I'll not be voting at the election. I'm fed up with the whole lot of it."
The SNP challenged Mr Devine and his two colleagues to refuse the legal aid they have been granted.
Lis Bardell, the SNP candidate in Livingston, added: "For Jim Devine and his Labour colleagues to have even applied for legal aid, never mind being granted it, is the final insult for the public."
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he thought most of the money would have to be paid back because of a change in the law.
Livingston's new Labour candidate, Graeme Morrice, also joined the chorus of criticism over the decision to grant legal aid.
He said: "It is a disgrace that legal aid has been granted. That is not what legal aid is for and I think, like me, local people will be furious to hear of it.
"It's important to know that these guys are no longer Labour members and sit as independents. The Labour party has absolutely no control over Mr Devine's decision to apply for legal aid."
The Law Society said it was a principle of the legal system that anyone charged with a criminal offence before the Crown Court was entitled to legal representation.
Chief executive Desmond Hudson said: "This is a vital part of ensuring that charges against a defendant must be fully proved in a fair trial. This must require the provision of legal aid.
"The government has recently introduced a means test for such cases to ensure that those who can afford to contribute to the costs of their representation are asked to do so."
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Monday 21 May 2012
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