Four charged over expenses

The cases stem from a wider scandal that erupted last year over politicians' expenses that angered voters and tainted both Labour and the Conservatives.

"In four cases, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges and that it is in the public interest to charge the individuals concerned," said Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer in a televised statement.

He named the four as Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine, who are Labour MPs, and Paul White, known as Lord Hanningfield, a Conservative peer.

All four denied the charges, which centred on dishonest expense claims backed up in some cases by false invoices.

The four men, who face a maximum sentence of seven years in jail, are scheduled to appear in court on March 11.

Labour said it had barred Morley, Chaytor and Devine from running for new terms. The Conservatives said White had resigned as the party's business spokesman in the Lords and would be suspended as a member of the party's group in the Lords.

BROWN ANGRY

"I am very angry about what has happened ... These are very serious criminal allegations," said Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"We've got to get rid of that old politics. It cannot be part of the new system," he told the BBC, adding that constitutional reforms he had proposed would help restore credibility in politics. The Conservatives dispute that.