Disgraced Denis MacShane jailed for six months

MacShane (65) admitted fleecing taxpayers out of almost £13,000 by fiddling his Parliamentary expenses.

The ex-MP, now of Westmoreland Terrace, Kensington, submitted 19 bogus invoices in a three-year scam.

He appeared at the Old Bailey today and was sentenced to six months in jail by Mr Justice Sweeney.

He was charged with false accounting after he pocketed £12,900 for research and translation services that he did not actually use between 2005 and 2008.

MacShane quit as an MP last November, the day after the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee recommended he be suspended for a year over his expenses claims.

Police initially opted not to prosecute MacShane, but then dramatically reversed the decision in July.