Britannia Radio

TELEGRAPH 21.4.09
British MEP charged with fraud over allegations of false payments to
researcher
A British MEP has been charged with fraud for allegedly siphoning off
nearly £40,000 of taxpayers' money by claiming it was being paid to a
researcher.

By Richard Edwards, Crime Correspondent

Tom Wise, who formerly represented the UK Independence party and now
sits in the European parliament as an independent, will appear in
court next week on counts of money laundering and false accounting.

His researcher, Lindsay Jenkins, faces the same charges.

For a year long period, Mr Wise allegedly claimed £3,000 a month in
wages for Miss Jenkins, but paid her only a fraction of that.

He is allegedly in breach of rules specifying that payments to Euro-
MPs' assistants must go directly to the employees or a third-party
"service provider".

The European Anti-Fraud Office began an investigation in October
2005, which was handed over to Bedfordshire police.

Derek Frame, reviewing lawyer, CPS Special Crime Division, said: "I
received the full file on 20 March 2009 and carefully reviewed the
evidence before making this decision.
"These charges relate to alleged offences committed between October
2004 and September 2005. At the time Mr Wise was a Member of the
European Parliament representing the United Kingdom Independence
Party and Ms Jenkins was employed by him as a researcher."

The pair will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on 27
April.