THREE Labour MPs and a Conservative peer told a judge they will use a 320-year-old law to argue they should not be prosecuted over the expenses scandal.
MPs David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Jim Devine, along with Lord Hanningfield, will insist their case should not be tried by a jury and instead be dealt with by House of Commons authorities.
In an unprecedented hearing at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court, all four Parliamentarians said they would plead not guilty to fiddling claims for allowances.
The MPs asked to be excused from standing in the secure glass dock at the back of the court – but their request was refused.
District Judge Timothy Workman agreed the case was so serious it should be heard at a higher court and released the four defendants on unconditional bail.
