Denis MacShane pleads guilty to expenses fraud

The expenses continues to cast a long shadow. Denis MacShane entered a guilty plea at the Old Bailey this morning. As the Press Association reports:

‘The ex-MP admitted false accounting by putting in fake receipts for £12,900 of “research and translation” services. He used the money to fund trips to Europe, including to judge a literary competition in Paris.’

MacShane will be sentenced on 19 December, and he has been granted unconditional bail. All sentencing options remain open to the court.

MacShane says that he did not profit personally from the claims; but concedes that he made a ‘grotesque mistake’.