Benefits fraud MEPfaces jail

Ashley Mote faces the prospect of prison after a jury convicted him on 21 counts of defrauding taxpayers by taking around 73,000 over six years '“ including housing and council tax benefits he received from Chichester District Council.

But the MEP for the South East has pledged he will appeal against his conviction.

At Portsmouth Crown Court, Judge Richard Price confiscated the politician's personal passports as well as special diplomatic documents that enable all MEPs to jet abroad.

He also ordered three of Mote's friends to stump up 50,000 between them, which they stand to lose if they do not ensure he turns up to be sentenced later this month.

Anthony Donne, mitigating, asked for Mote to be given two weeks to sort out parliamentary business in Brussels before he is sentenced on August 31.

Mr Donne said: 'He is a public figure who is not going to do a runner.'

But Judge Price said he believed Mote might abscond, adding: 'I have observed him over the past three weeks of this trial and he has showed deceit after deceit.

'Because of what he has not told us about his real financial position there are substantial grounds for believing that if he is released on bail he will fail to surrender.'

The politician (71), of Binsted in Hampshire, was cleared of four other charges relating to dishonestly claiming housing and council tax benefits as well as income support before he became an MEP.

But Judge Price has ordered Mote to start paying back all the money.

He said: 'You have been found guilty of dishonestly causing a significant loss of money to the taxpayers.

'During the course of this trial I have watched almost with incredulity your deceit about money.

'Even now I cannot say with any certainty that I know what your real financial position is or what assets you have or have not got.

'There is a very strong likelihood there will be an immediate prison sentence because this is a great deal of public money.'

If sent to prison, Mote could be kicked out of the European Parliament under Home Office rules.

Mote ooriginally won his seat by standing for UKIP but was expelled from the party once the allegations came to light.

If Mote is jailed, the government will inform Brussels he is no longer a representative for this country and the European Parliament will ask UKIP to nominate a replacement.

The MEP has declined to comment on legal advice but a statement on his website said that his legal team working on an appeal against the convictions.