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Ashley Mote (born 25 January 1936, London) is a non-inscrit Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England. Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Non-Inscrits (abbreviated NI; English: Non-Attached Members, abbreviated NA; the English name is also official but the French name A Member of the European Parliament ( English abbreviation MEP) is a member of the European Union 's legislative body the European Parliament. South East England is a Constituency of the European Parliament. [1][2] An outspoken critic of fraud in the European Institutions, he himself was convicted of benefit fraud in 2007 for which he served a nine-month sentence and was described by the trial judge as "a truly dishonest man". There are currently five institutions of the European Union which govern the Union The scandal ignited a debate as to how an MEP could receive a prison sentence, yet keep his seat in the European Parliament; there are currently moves afoot to close this legal loophole in English law. The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of Common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the

Contents

Early career

Married with two children, Mote was a management consultant who ran a marketing business in Farnham, Surrey, employing thirteen full-time staff, for eighteen years before it closed in 1989 as a result of the late 1980s recession. Management consulting refers to both the industry of and the practice of helping organizations improve their performance primarily through the analysis of existing business problems Farnham is a Town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. [3]

He later became an author, publishing several titles on politics and cricket. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries His books have included Vigilance - A Defence of British Liberty (2001) about the European Union, and OverCrowded Britain: Our Immigration Crisis. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in His books on cricket include The Glory Days of Cricket (1997) which won The Cricket Society's "Cricket Book of the Year" award in 1997. The Cricket Society is an organisation that was originally founded as the Society of Cricket Statisticians at Great Scotland Yard London in 1945 [4] He also edited a 1998 re-issue of John Nyren's 1833 classic collection of articles on the Georgian game, The Cricketers of my Time. John Nyren (born 15 December 1764 at Hambledon Hampshire; died 30 June, 1837 in Bromley-by-Bow London) was an English He was also the first president of the revived Hambledon Club which raises money for colts cricket. The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century Cricket matches

European Parliament

Mote was elected in June 2004 as a representative of the United Kingdom Independence Party for South East England. The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, ˈjuːkɪp He had campaigned to clean up sleaze in Brussels. [5]

He purports to expose and research fraud in the EU, although Mote himself has served time in prison after been found guilty of benefit fraud. He has recently published J'Accuse. . . !, an anti-EU pamphlet in which he claims migrants are eight times more likely to commit crime than "indigenous people". According to Mote, "Jamaican Yardies are selling crack cocaine in Hereford and Cambridgeshire, Chinese Snakeheads are operating in Lancashire and Norfolk, Albanians are running prostitution in Hampshire, Colombians control a cocaine network in Essex. Yardie is a term stemming from the slang name given to occupants of government yards in Trenchtown, a neighborhood in West Kingston Jamaica. Hereford ( ˈhɛrɨfəd is a city, Civil parish and County town of Herefordshire, England. History Cambridgeshire is noted as the site of some of the earliest known Neolithic permanent settlement in the United Kingdom, along with sites at Fengate Snakeheads ( are Chinese Gangs that smuggle people to other countries Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. } Albanians (Shqiptarët are an Ethnic group and a Nation, in the sense of sharing a common Albanian culture speaking the Albanian language Wildlife Hampshire has wildlife typical of the island of Great Britain Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common "[6]

After having the whip withdrawn as a result of his fraud trial, he became an non-inscrit MEP. Non-Inscrits (abbreviated NI; English: Non-Attached Members, abbreviated NA; the English name is also official but the French name In 2005, he joined with Hans Peter Martin and Paul van Buitenen in the loose unofficial grouping Platform for Transparency which promoted accountability in the European Union. Hans-Peter Martin (born August 11, 1957) is an Austrian Journalist who has also been a Member of the European Parliament since 1999 Paul van Buitenen (born 28 May, 1957 in Breda) is a Member of the European Parliament for the Netherlands and a European Platform for Transparency is a loose unofficial grouping within the European Parliament, established in 2005[http //www In 2006, he gave evidence to the House of Lords enquiry into the EU's financial management of public funds. The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" In 2007, he transferred his allegiances to the new far-right party Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty, whose members included Jean-Marie Le Pen and Alessandra Mussolini[7]; the party, branded as "fascists"[8] ceased to exist on 14 November 2007. Identity Tradition Sovereignty (ITS was a political group in the European Parliament composed of 23 members from European parties variously described Jean-Marie Le Pen (born June 20, 1928, La Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany, France) is a French far-right Nationalist Alessandra Mussolini (born December 30 1962 is an Italian Conservative Politician, previously an Actress and model. Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

Fraud conviction

Proceedings begin

In 2004, the Department of Work and Pensions brought criminal charges against Mote for allegedly claiming £32,000 in income support and £35,000 in housing benefit from Chichester District Council over a six-year period without declaring his monthly earnings of £4,000. The Department for Work and Pensions (or DWP) ( Welsh: Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau) is the largest government department in the Government Welfare is financial assistance paid to people by governments Housing Benefit is a Means tested Social security benefit in the UK that is intended to help people with low incomes and low savings pay for rented History The district was formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the Municipal borough of Chichester Mote was committed for trial at Chichester Crown Court on 27 April 2004. In Law, a committal procedure is the process by which a defendant is charged with a serious offence under the Criminal justice systems of all Common law Events 1124 - David I becomes King of Scotland. 1296 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " He would face nine charges of false accounting and one charge of making a false representation. In the broadest sense a fraud is a Deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual On 16 June, at a plea and directions hearing, he pleaded not guilty to the charges and a trial date was fixed for 15 November. Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. [9] The following month, the UK Independence Party withdrew the whip from Mote on 15 July 2004 after learning from an article in the The Daily Telegraph that he faced trial; Mote had failed to inform his party of the impending charges. Whip is a role in party-based politics whose primary purpose is to ensure control of the formal decision-making process in a parliamentary legislature Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. [10]

Application for immunity

On 4 October 2004 Mote sought to claim immunity from prosecution on the basis of his status as an MEP. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " His application was heard by Judge Aikens at Lewes Crown Court. He held that Chichester Crown Court was obliged to stay proceedings until the European Parliament had exercised its right to waive immunity. On 3 February 2005 the Attorney General applied to the Parliament whose Committee on Legal Affairs unanimously granted the waiver on 20 June and gave its approval to proceedings continuing in England. Events 1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry uniting the fortunes of those two states Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is the chief legal adviser of the Crown in England and Wales Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun.

On 5 April 2005 Mote appealed the Parliament's decision to the Court of First Instance (CFI). Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The European Court of First Instance, created in 1989 is a court of the European Union. He gave no notice of his application to the Attorney General, nor to Judge Aikens at Lewes Crown Court, meaning that the British Government was unable to intervene in the case. Mote later applied on 15 December 2006 to the CFI for an interim order suspending the Parliament's decision pending the outcome of their decision. Events 533 - Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. This was rejected on the basis that the condition of urgency was not satisfied. [11]

Following the Parliament's waiver, the Attorney General applied to lift the stay imposed by Judge Aikens. The application was heard by Judge Gross on 17 October 2006 who granted the application, ruling that the desirability of proceeding with the trial outweighed any potential injustice to Mote that might result if the CFI were to annul the decision of the European Parliament to grant a waiver. Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. [11]

Trial

The case returned to England and a further 16 counts of fraud were added to Mote's original indictment. He complained once again to the European Parliament on 4 May 2007 that this constituted a "contempt", but the Parliament remarked that he had no immunity to defend and took no action. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. In many Jurisdictions governed by a Parliament, Contempt of Parliament is the Crime of obstructing the parliament in the carrying out of its functions or [12] A second application was made to the CFI for interim measures, but this was also rejected. [11]

A four-week trial commenced at Portsmouth Crown Court in July 2007; proceedings against Mote were led by government lawyers who had taken over the case from Chichester District Council in late 2005. The court heard that Mote had claimed housing and council tax benefits between 1991 and 1993 following the collapse of his business. He began to claim benefits again from 1996 but failed to declare income from various enterprises including a cleaning company and gambling on the currency markets. The foreign exchange ( currency or forex or FX) market refers to the market for currencies. [13]

In total, Mote spent just short of £73,000 between 20 February 1996 and 29 September 2002 to fund a "luxury lifestyle", regularly dining out and holidaying in France, The Caribbean and the United States. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He was also accused of pocketing "substantial sums" through his interests in two firms. [14] Joanna Greenberg QC, prosecuting, said that from 1996, Mote had filled out benefit claim forms stating that he was unemployed and had no financial assets, even though at the time he had business interests in an international marketing firm called Tanner Management and another company, JC Commercial Management. Queen's Counsel ( postnominal QC) &ndash known as King's Counsel ( KC) during the reign of a male sovereign  &ndash are [15]

Conviction

On 17 August 2007 Mote was found guilty by a jury of 21 charges of deception by falsely claiming £65,506 in benefits, and acquitted of a further four charges. Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. A jury a sworn body of persons convened to render a rational, impartial Verdict (a finding of fact on a question officially submitted to them Judge Richard Price warned him to expect a custodial sentence, but allowed bail on condition that Mote surrendered his British and diplomatic passports, as well as providing £50,000 in sureties. A custodial sentence is a judicial sentence imposing a punishment (and hence the resulting punishment itself consisting of mandatory custody of the convict either in prison Traditionally bail is some form of Property deposited or pledged to a Court in order to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding [16]

He was sentenced on 31 August to nine months imprisonment to be served in Ford open prison, West Sussex. Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne HM Prison Ford (informally known as Ford Open Prison) is a low-security Prison near Arundel and Littlehampton in West Sussex, Settlements Most settlements in West Sussex are either along the south coast or are situated in the M23 corridor During sentencing, Judge Price said that Mote, "a truly dishonest man"[17], had executed a "carefully-planned scheme of dishonesty" and had taken "a great deal of trouble to cover [his] tracks[18], adding that "[t]o say that this case has ruined you is an understatement, it is a tragedy. " Mote's defence counsel described his client as a Walter Mitty character and admitted that the sentence was a "massive fall from grace". Walter Mitty is a Fictional character in James Thurber 's short story " The Secret Life of Walter Mitty " first published in The New Yorker [13] Mote applied for the third time to the CFI for relief against the impending imprisonment, highlighting the urgent nature of his request. This was also rejected by the CFI on 22 November 2007. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

Reacting to the sentence, the leader of the UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage, said he was "disgusted and horrified" at the leniency of the sentence. Nigel Paul Farage (born 3 April 1964 in Farnborough) is a British politician and leader of the Eurosceptic United Kingdom [13] If Mote had been jailed for more than one year, he would have lost his seat in the European Parliament, which could have been reassigned to another representative. Farage added that if "Mote had a shred of integrity left, he'd resign. "[13]

Mote was released from prison in November 2007 under the Government's tagging scheme. Electronic tagging is a form of non-surreptitious Surveillance consisting of an electronic device attached to a person or vehicle especially certain criminals allowing their [19]

Appeal

Mote appealed the decision of Portsmouth Crown Court to the Court of Appeal on two main grounds. The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords above First, that he had applied to the European Court of Justice to have his immunity as an MEP upheld and that it was an abuse of process for the Crown Court not to have suspended the case pending its decision. This article refers to the European Union court not the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe The Court of Justice Abuse of process is a Common law intentional Tort. It is to be distinguished from Malicious prosecution, another type of tort that involves misuse of the Second, that the fact the jury had convicted him on 21 counts of fraud and acquitted him on 4 counts was inconsistent. Giving his judgment, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, stated that Portsmouth Crown Court had correctly decided that there was no need to wait for the CFI's decision, noting in any case that it was unlikely the CFI would differ in its final judgment from the decision of the European Parliament. The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales was historically the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor. Nicholas Addison Phillips Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers PC, (born 21 January 1938 is the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. On the second ground of appeal, the Court did, however, quash one of the counts of fraud - that of failing to notify. [11]

Repayment of benefits

The decision of Chichester District Council finding that benefits had been overpaid to Mote had been challenged by him before the Social Security Appeal Tribunal. The Social Security Appeal Tribunal is a Tribunal in the United Kingdom which hears appeals from decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions, The appeals were pending at the time Mote was committed for trial at the Crown Court, and were heard on 3 September 2004, although Mote was not present. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Tribunal dismissed the appeals, and Mote appealed to the Social Security Commissioners who dismissed his action on 20 July 2006. Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Court of Appeal agreed to hear a further appeal and Mote argued that the Social Security Appeal Tribunal should have adjourned the case pending the outcome of Mote's criminal proceedings. This was rejected by the Court which held that the continuation of the proceedings did not constitute a breach of Mote's human rights. The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998 and mostly came into force [20][21]

As a result of the decision, Mote was obliged to repay £67,000 of the falsely claimed benefits. [22]

Catalyst for change in the law

Sarah Ludford MEP called for the British Government to change the law in the wake of the Mote case, explaining that the European Parliament had been powerless to intervene in the case as Mote's eligibility as an MEP was solely a question of UK law. Sarah Ann Ludford Baroness Ludford (born 14 March 1951) is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords and Member of the European Parliament She expressed the sentiment that "MEPs are deeply unhappy at our inability to chuck out Mr Mote. "[23] The Commons Leader Harriet Harman shared these concerns and said that she was "in discussions regarding how we might explore options for reviewing the legislation", adding that "[t]he aim of this would be to ensure that, in future, the salaries of MPs and MEPs who are in prison would not be paid on the basis that they are not actually carrying out all their functions. The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons Harriet Ruth Harman "[24]

External links

References

  1. ^ Official web site
  2. ^ Profile at European Parliament website
  3. ^ Sunday Times, "Recession turns the screw on the achievers; Interest rates", 26 May 1991.
  4. ^ Hambledon website
  5. ^ The Independent, "UKIP member's sexist tirade mars Kilroy's big day", 21 July 2004, p. 24.
  6. ^ Express on Sunday, "Jailbird's familiar tune", 20 January 2008.
  7. ^ The Times, "British MEP defends helping far-right group to get funding", 16 January 2007, p. 31.
  8. ^ Birmingham Post, "Brit is a 'fascist", 16 January 2007.
  9. ^ The Daily Telegraph, "New MEP for UKIP faces fraud charge", 15 June 2004, p. 11.
  10. ^ The Times, "Whip withdrawn", 17 July 2004, p. 6.
  11. ^ a b c d Mote v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Court of Appeal decision, 21 December 2007
  12. ^ European Parliament decision of 10 July 2007
  13. ^ a b c d Yorkshire Post, "Euro-MP in benefits fiddle jailed for nine months", 5 September 2007.
  14. ^ The Sun, "'Pounds 70,000 MEP con'", 21 July 2007, p. 19.
  15. ^ Daily Express, Euro MP in '70,000 benefits swindle', 21 July 2007.
  16. ^ The Times, "MEP found guilty of benefit fraud", 18 August 2007, p. 22.
  17. ^ Daily Mirror, "Pay fury over MEP swindler", 5 September 2007, p. 11.
  18. ^ The Sun, "Pounds 65k con MEP gets 9 months", 5 September 2007, p. 27.
  19. ^ Express on Sunday, "Fraud MEP out of jail after 10 weeks", 18 November 2007.
  20. ^ The Times, "Concurrent civil case no rights breach", 28 December 2007, p. 72.
  21. ^ Court of Appeal, decision of 14 December 2007.
  22. ^ BBC News, "Jailed MEP told to repay benefits", 14 December 2007.
  23. ^ Daily Express, "Change the law that can't disqualify disgraced MEP", 10 September 2007.
  24. ^ Birmingham Post, "Move to stop jailed MPs continuing to be paid", 17 November 2007, p. 5.

Bibliography

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