Livingston MP Jim Devine today told the City of Westminster Magistrates Court he would plead not guilty to charges relating to the expenses scandal.
Mr Devine appeared in court alongside two other Labour MPs, Elliot Morley of Scunthorpe and David Chaytor of Bury North, on Thursday. In the dock, the trio told District Judge Timothy Workman they denied any wrongdoing.
At the start of the MP's 15 minute hearing, an application by their barrister Julian Knowles to allow the defendants to sit outside the dock was rejected.
District Judge Timothy Workman then declined jurisdiction and agreed with a defence application for the case to be heard at the Crown Court. Mr Knowles said the case raised issues of constitutional importance and it was right that it should be tested at the higher court.
The three MPs were then bailed to appear at Southwark Crown Court on March 30. They left court without commenting to journalists and got into a waiting black cab accompanied by their lawyers and escorted by police, following a brief crush as protesters hurled abuse, shouting "pigs" and "oink, oink".
Immediately after the Labour MPs appearance, Tory peer Lord Hanningfield appeared before the magistrates. He said he would deny charges of wrongly claiming for "repayment of travelling and other expenses".
His lawyer, Rupert Bowers, made no application for his client to stand outside the dock and he was quickly bailed, also to appear at Southwark Crown Court on March 30.
After the brief hearing, Hanningfield issued a statement saying he was "devastated" by the affair.
Speaking on his behalf, spokesman Mark Spragg said: "Lord Hanningfield has devoted the last 40 years of his life to public service including both as leader of Essex County Council since 2000 and as a member of the House of Lords since 1998.
"He is devastated to be in this position. He feels he has been singled out. He does not believe that he has done anything dishonest."
The prosecution of the four men is the first to result from the Westminster expenses scandal. If found guilty, all four could face jail sentences of up to seven years.
The court appearances came on the day The Daily Telegraph reported that another Labour MP is under police investigation over his parliamentary expenses. The newspaper said the Metropolitan Police launched a criminal inquiry into Leyton and Wanstead MP Harry Cohen after he claimed around £70,000 for a second home while renting out his main residence.
Mr Devine is alleged to have claimed £3,240 for cleaning services and £5,505 for stationery using false invoices in 2008 and 2009. Mr Morley is alleged to have dishonestly claimed a total of £30,428 more than he was entitled to in second home expenses on a house in Winterton, near Scunthorpe, between 2004 and 2007 - including 18 months after the mortgage on the property was paid off.
Mr Chaytor faces charges that he claimed almost £13,000 in rent in 2005 and 2006 on a London flat which he owned, as well as £5,425 in 2007 and 2008 to rent a property in Lancashire owned by his mother. He is also alleged to have used false invoices to claim £1,950 for IT services in 2006.
Lord Hanningfield faces six charges of false accounting, relating to claims for overnight allowances from the House of Lords between 2006 and 2009, when records allegedly show he was in fact driven to his home near Chelmsford.
The three MPs have all been barred from standing as Labour candidates at the forthcoming general election. Lord Hanningfield, on the other hand, was suspended from the parliamentary Conservative Party and stood down as leader of Essex County Council.
In a joint statement issued last month, the MPs said: "We totally refute any charges that we have committed an offence and we will defend our position robustly."
The charges were announced by Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer following a nine-month investigation triggered by the leak of expenses details to The Daily Telegraph.
