12:58pm UK, Monday January 24, 2011
Closing statements are being made in the trial of Lord Taylor, who stands accused of making false expenses claims.
Lord Taylor denies making false expenses claims
The former Tory peer faces charges relating to costs he claimed for travel between an Oxford property he listed as his main residence and the Houses of Parliament.
The former barrister faces six charges of false accounting after it emerged he had never spent the night at the Oxford house which is owned by his half-nephew’s partner.
The 59-year-old, who has resigned as the Conservative whip, denies the charges and claims he listed the Oxford home as his main address following advice from colleagues.
Lord Taylor of Warwick lives in Ealing in west London but maintains there was ambiguity about the term “main residence”.
He said there were “difficulties” among peers and that he was not the only person who struggled with the concept.
Lord Taylor told Southwark Crown Court: “It was a quirk like many other things in the House of Lords.”
The peer maintained he had been advised that House of Lords expenses were like “allowances” and said “the policy was to claim the maximum”.
He explained the expenses were “in lieu of salary” as there was “no realistic prospect” of Lords being paid.
The charges of false accounting relate to various dates between March 2006 and October 2007.