Former Ukip MEP Ashley Mote claimed almost £500,000 in fraudulent expenses, court hears

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A former Ukip MEP fraudulently claimed almost £500,000 in European Parliament expenses, using some of it to fund his domestic court battles, a court heard.

Ashley Mote, 79, denies a string of fraud-related offences including acquiring criminal property and obtaining a money transfer by deception.

Jonathan Davies, for the prosecution, told Southwark Crown Court that as an MEP, Mr Mote was entitled to claim expenses, including something known as Parliamentary Assistance Allowance, or Secretarial Allowance. Jurors heard some of the money Mr Mote allegedly made from the fraud went towards funding legal costs he had built up as a result of being prosecuted for benefit fraud.

Mr Davies said: “What the prosecution say happened between 2004 and 2009, when Mr Mote ceased to be an MEP, is he abused that allowance by submitting false claims for payment for work which he said to the European Parliament had been done by organisations working on his behalf.”

Jurors heard that two of the organisations had previously campaigned against UK membership of the EU. They were the Better Off Out Fund (Boof), and Direct Action Resistance To Tyranny (Dartt).

However, it is alleged that neither of these companies conducted any work for Mr Mote, who made claims of £16,000 against Boof, and £54,000 in relation to Dartt.

Mr Mote was elected a Ukip MEP for South-east England in 2004, but before he took up his seat was thrown out of the party because he was being prosecuted by the Department for Work and Pensions for benefit fraud. He sat as an independent until deciding not to run in 2009.

Mr Mote, from Binsted, Hampshire, denies four counts of obtaining a money transfer by deception, three of false accounting, two of fraud, and one each of acquiring criminal property and concealing criminal property.

The trial continues.

Press Association