[Osem]

Another Euro-snout-in-the-trough for whom the already generous perks and privileges clearly weren't sufficient.

An MEP who dishonestly claimed about £100,000 in expenses with a "sustained pattern of stealing" has been jailed for four years.

Peter Skinner, 56, who was Labour MEP for the South East from 1999 to 2014, was found guilty of three charges after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.

He claimed thousands of pounds for support staff, which actually funded jewellery, restaurants and hotel stays.

Sentencing Skinner, of Snodland, Kent, the judge said he had abused trust.

The politician made fraudulent payments of £10,000 a month to his wife from December 2007 until July 2009.

This entitled him to claim secretarial or parliamentary assistance allowance.

He also created a fake letter claiming his father was working for him, to justify his payments of £5,000 every three months, his trial heard.

In total Skinner claimed £480,000 in expenses, about £100,000 of that was fraudulent.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-36167299

I note the rather convenient 'confused over EU rules' excuse but it seems to have been more a case of being 'confused' over the difference between legality and illegality.