Euro MP appeals against conviction
A SHAMED Euro MP who was jailed for falsely claiming benefits has launched a High Court bid to clear his name.
The court of appeal in London yesterday granted Ashley Mote leave to launch a challenge against his conviction after he was found guilty of 21 counts of benefit fraud totalling 67,000.
The case is expected to come back to Portsmouth Crown Court, where the independent MEP for the South-East was jailed in September.
Mote was released on November 12 after serving just two months of a nine-month sentence at Ford open prison in Sussex and is wearing an electronic tag that prevents him travelling to the European Parliament in Brussels.
Before his hearing, Mote, 71, said he intended to return to Brussels early in the New Year. He insisted that his incarceration had not prevented him doing his job as an MEP and added that a very friendly governor at the prison had allowed him to continue his constituency work normally.
He said: 'This meant that my staff and constituents did not suffer as a result of my imprisonment.
'I had, and still have, a job to do and will continue to do it.'
Mote, of Binsted, near Alton, also moaned about having to wear a tag. He said: 'I am confined to my home during the evening which, obviously, is a real bind.'
Mote's 60,000 salary does not make him eligible to claim legal aid to pay for the appeal costs.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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