Hmm,
Giles Chichester offered a "mea culpa" for making payments to his family company, where he is a paid director, and claimed he did not know about 2003 rule changes tightening up Parliament\’s financial regulations.
"It is embarrassing, not least, because I have introduced a new code of guidelines for my Conservative colleagues for expenses," he told ITV West Country.
"Here I am leading that process for the last couple of months and whoops-a-daisy I am shown up to have made a mistake. OK. Hands up, mea culpa and I am putting it right."
I think we can now understand a little better the quality of scrutiny of legislation in the EP now, eh? If a leading MEP who is actually preparing guides on how to obey the law doesn\’t know what said rules are, then what hope the manner in which the laws are scrutinised before they are passed?
This is not an explanation to be bought. If the rules permitted it, the conduct in question would still be unacceptable.
Does putting it right include paying back a bit? Oinkers overhead!
If he doesn’t have the common decency to resign from the party then DC must sack him pronto.