4:21pm Thursday 11th March 2010
By Dominic Yeatman
THE former leader of Essex County Council, Lord Hanningfield, has appeared in court alongside three MPs charged with fraud over their Parliamentary expense claims.
Hanningfield stepped down from the council's leadership last month after being charged under the Theft Act in connection with expenses for overnight stays in London which he is alleged to have claimed for nights when he was spending at his home just outside Chelmsford.
He denied the charges this afternoon during a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court.
His lawyer Mike Spragg said that Hanningfield had devoted the last 40 years of his life to public service, adding: "He is devastated to be in this position. He feels he has been singled out and does not believe that he has done anything dishonest."
The case was adjourned to March 30 when it will resume at Southwark Crown Court. All four were released on bail.
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