12:22pm Friday 5th February 2010
By Edmund Tobin
LORD Hanningfield has resigned his position as Essex County Council leader after finding out he will face criminal proceedings over his expenses.
Director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer has confirmed the Tory peer will be charged under the Theft Act along with Labour MPs Elliot Morley, Jim Devine, and David Chaytor.
According to the CPS, Lord Hanningfield faces six charges of "dishonestly" submitting claims "for expenses to which he knew he was not entitled" including overnight stays in London.
Lord Hanningfield has denied all the charges.
In a statement he said: "All the claims I have ever made were made in good faith. I have never claimed more in expenses than I have spent in the course of my duties."
Lord Hanningfield has now formally resigned as leader of Essex County Council.
He has also resigned his parliamentary position as shadow business spokesman, and has been formally suspended from the Conservative Party.
More to follow.
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