Three Labour MPs and one Tory peer will face criminal charges over their expenses, Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer has said.

MPs Elliot Morley, Jim Devine, David Chaytor and Lord Hanningfield will be charged under the Theft Act.

In a joint statement the MPs said they denied any charges and would "defend our position robustly".

Revelations about MPs expenses emerged in May last year with the police going on to investigate a handful of cases.

Labour peer Lord Clarke will not be charged but a sixth case remains under investigation, said Keir Starmer.
Parliamentary privilege

Announcing the Crown Prosecution Service decision, Mr Starmer said: "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.

"Accordingly, summonses in these cases have been obtained from the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court and will now be served on the individuals in question."

CPS statement on MPs' expenses

Mr Starmer also said that the lawyers acting for those involved had raised the issue of Parliamentary privilege - which grants MPs and peers special rights and has evolved over hundreds of years.

He added: "We have considered that question and concluded that the applicability and extent of any Parliamentary privilege claimed should be tested in court."

Former minister Elliot Morley, MP for Scunthorpe, will face two charges in relation to a total of £30,000 of mortgage interest claims on a property in Winterton, Lincolnshire between 2004 and 2