There is overwhelming evidence that New Labour’s Jim Devine MP is a criminal who has produced faked receipts for almost five thousand pounds.
The Herald has been doing an excellent job of digging in to Devine’s expenses. Last week they uncovered a “receipt” he submitted for 2157 pounds for rewiring. The company name, address, postcode and VAT number all proved bogus.
It could have been that Devine did pay for the work, and was given a fake receipt. But that seems less likely given this week’s revelation. Devine claimed 2326 pounds for 60 metres of shelving at his constituency office in Blackburn, West Lothian. (The same town has “Hairy Angel” Susan Boyle, and a criminal for an MP.)
Just think how much 200 feet of shelving is. A huge amount. About 2,000 books worth. But the Herald says that there is no shelving at the constituency office. What is more, the receipt is issued by the landlord of the local pub.
The electrician with the false name, address and VAT registration cannot be produced because, unfortunately, Devine says he has died. I do hope the pub landlord does not have a keg fall on him in the cellar.
Amazingly, there is not any police investigation into Devine.
Reminds me of when police psychologists suggest that some crimes are so blatantly culpable, it’s as though the perpetrator wants to be caught, as a plea for help.
A poor replacement for Robin Cook. Apart from telling these ‘porky pies’ it appears that, like Prescott*, he has been at the pies.
There’s a link there to the croquet-playing* Queen of Hearts.
‘Off with their heads’ she cried.
I missed out the link to his website photo with Michael Sheen.
http://www.jimdevine.org.uk/EZEdit/view.asp?MID=291
Paul Hutcheon of the Sunday Herald has been working overtime on his case. There is more of the same from 2nd May 2009.
http://www.sundayherald.com/search/display.var.2505731.0.mp_accused_over_expenses.php
I don’t feel quite so vindictive about him as I do about some other MPs as he has had a proper job before as a psychiatric nurse and for that I respect
him. Shame he’s now resorted to crime.
Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)
Manifest desires,
Embrace selfishness,
Reduce simplicity,
Have few plainness.
The Way of New Labour
Parcel of rogues (1997- )
I notice that the entire Sunday Herald site appears to be offline, although the servers respond to a ping (some of you will know what that means). I guess someone at the Herald is being threatened. Would love to be proved wrong.
Devine’s parliament career may be over. But we should not rejoice. After all, corruption in a democracy is bad for all of us. Just think, Jack Straw may be next. Eh, you smiling and not sad at the thought?
Devine must know the name of the electrician if he knows he’s died. And the electrician must have submitted his accounts to HMRC and hence they can be checked out.
The funniest comment in the Herald piece was the classic ‘He’s either died or gone up North’.
I am writing to the chief constable of Lothian & Borders Police to report Mr Devine MP, based on Sunday Herald articles.
As a Lothians and Borders taxpayer I shall do the same,after all they have just spent one and a half million pounds trying to frame Tommy Sheridan for perjury for a civil case which he won against the News of the World.I shall therefore be asking them how much they have spent investigating Mr Devine!
Hugh Kerr
You are spot on.
Lothians and Borders police are the tail that wags the dog…
http://tinyurl.com/l742yh
ITS A PITY HE DID NOT SPEND SOME OF THE MONEY ON HIS EX WIFE HOME AS THE WINDOWS ARE ABOUT TO FALL OUT
‘Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,’
… seems Lao Tzu not readily applicable to Mr Devine; correct quote (from B&Q) is ‘Reduce shelfishness’
@NN
I hate the those web abbreviations, but in this case – ROTFL.
@Ron: as of this posting, the Herald Story seems to be fine. Might have just been a glitch.
Lothians and Borders finest tell me the Metropolitan police are investigating Mr Devine send your complaints to them.
This is just the start for this thieving waste of tax payers money. Apparently MP’s can now raise the dead following yet another revalation regarding electrical work Mr Devine had done on his second home.
In one story he said the work was done by a manwhose company does not even exist but in one breath Mr Devine states he thought that the electrician had died though in another he states the electrician may be a tax evading geezer from a pub, who he never knew, before allowing him full unattended access to his London Home who may now be living up north.
Is this the way we, taxpayers, expect our hard earned cash to be accounted for.
Give up Jim you are a thief who will be investigated internally which shall sit nicely along with the Employment Tribunal against you as well as deflamation of character case against you for your years of abuse of staff and lying as well as cheating. Oh the joy of seeing you suffer, you have no idea.
I cannot tell a lie,it was me who did the electrical work in the fat liers flat.
Peter Brady,
Invisible Electrics Ltd.
Devine is a crook, pure and simple.
Rewiring? Easy enough to find out if he had any work carried. Call in an Electrician and ask if the wiring has been touched, floors uplifted and plastering work carried out.
Shelfing? There is no shelfing in his constituency office.
4 Early day motions in one year from this man. 3 Of which were about his favourite football team, funnily enough, not Livingstone FC.
He should be removed from office today, investigated by the Police and charges to follow asap.
The Scottish Labour party should hang their heads in shame. Corruption, bigotry and nepotism are just for starters.
The thought of seeing this horrible, slimey thief on his backside where he belongs should warm the hearts of all right-thinking people. I just hope and pray the police do their job and go through this crooks expenses over the years with a very fine tooth comb.
Devine belongs in prison, alongside all the other theiving scumbags.
A simple independent inspection of his second home by a qualified electrician will reveal beyond any reasonable doubt whether it has been rewired within the last 2 years. In addition, as an electrician myself, I can tell you that rewiring a flat is a major job. Floor boards up, walls raggled, carpets lifted etc etc etc. Devine should be asked to produce the bills for all this additional work by way of decoration etc etc that would have resulted from a rewire.
A simple request to see the 60 metres of shelving will also suffice.
If Devine has nothing to hide, he will comply with both.
Let’s not forget the other little thief Michael Connerty, MP for Falkirk, Devines wee pal. A slimier pair of toads you couldn’t wish to meet. He’s up to his neck in fraud too.
we’re coming for you on sunday
Michael Connarty and Devine both have a lot of questions to answer. I would hope the local branches of the Labour party propose a vote of no confidence in both and we instant resignations to follow.
Keir Hrdy must be turning in his grave at these thiefs, bigots and desposts who rule Scottish Labour.
You have disgraced the Labour Party Mr Devine. Enjoy yourself in jail.
This man is nothing more than a low life thief. The Police should leave no stone unturned to bring this man to justice. Maybe he will ask his friend and leader of his favourite passtime (Dr Reid) to come to his defence….. Your on your own this time Devine and heading down !!
Hopefully, this drain on society will get his cumuppance soon and this time, the cost to the taxpayer will be worth every penny. How much does porridge cost anyway?
Remember the words of Henry McLeish on revealing in The Scotsman the rampant bigotry within Scottish Labour Party ranks:
The claims about sectarianism and factionalism are particularly damaging. “It should not matter if you are Catholic or Protestant – but in too many constituencies it does,” Mr McLeish said.
He said there was a clique around those who had been to Glasgow University, and another “which seemed to think it had some kind of hereditary right to control Scottish Labour”.
The former first minister was referring to the “Lanarkshire mafia”, the group of largely Celtic-supporting Labour MPs and MSPs who exert enormous power. The First Minister was an outsider, but gradually moved inside by taking over a Lanarkshire seat, moving to the area and going to Celtic games.”
Both Devine and Connarty jumped aboard the Celtic Park juggernaut. They are bigots, as well as thiefs, indeed Connarty can be seen leaving messages, bold as brass, on a website linked to Sinn Fein/IRA. The anti-British comments on said website have to be read to be believed.
There is only one place for Devine and that is jail. Thieves, fraudsters and Hamas supporters have no place in society.
I have worked for 20+ years in the building trade. If I did what he did, the Vat man, the Tax man and the Police would be kicking my door down.
Quite simply if this was me I would have the fraud squad and the Inland Revenue scouring my accounts and I would quite rightly be investigated and most likely charged. Why should this abuser of power be treated any differently, my friend Big John knew of this guys deeds a long time ago and told me it was covered up by the his colleagues in the Labour Party. Sounds like they’re all guilty.