Cock-a-diddle-do; Fiddling peer tells parliament watchdog he used public's money to pay an aide to look after his CHICKENS.

Byline: EXCLUSIVE BY JAMES LYONS Deputy Political Editor

PILFERING peer Lord Hanningfield faced new shame last night after trying to use his chickens as an excuse for diddling the taxpayer out of thousand of pounds.

The brazen baron has been called before the Privileges and Conduct Committee after being exposed by the Mirror over a "clock-in, clockout" scam to claim his attendance allowance. Sleaze watchdogs were said to be stunned when he attempted to justify his actions by saying he needed the cash to hire a man to look after his hens while he was in Westminster.

Now the former jailbird is set to be kicked out of Parliament for a year and forced to repay the money we caught him fiddling.

He will be given a final chance to put his case to the committee next week. But a source said: "They'll throw the book at him." Fellow Lords are furious that he tried to smear his colleagues.

The 73-year-old claimed 50 other peers were doing the same - after he was caught collecting a PS300 a day attendance allowance for spending as little as 21 minutes in Parliament.

But he failed to name names or provide any evidence when pressed by Commissioner for Standards Paul Kernaghan, aghan, who investigated evidence compiled by the Mirror.

nce .t o y1 m ut. n to CHANGED t E The Conduct Committee is set to make him repay PS3,300 for the 11 times we saw him clocking in and out.

CHANGE Deputy PM Nick Clegg They also plan to suspend him from Parliament until next year's general election - the maximum punishment they can impose. Amazingly, he could still return after the ban.

The former Tory frontbencher claimed he needed the allowance to pay for four staff, including a dog-sitter.

He was given nine months' jail in 2011 over the last expenses scandal after being found guilty of falsely claiming for overnight stays in London. He was out in less than three months and returned to the Lords the next year after repaying PS30,000.

When we confronted him at his PS700,000 Essex home over his clocking-in scam, Hanningfield whined: "I don't have any money when I have paid for looking after my dog, cleaning my house, electricity, food. I have to live don't I? I'm a working peer."

The latest scandal has been seized on by campaigners who want to see sweeping changes in the Upper House.

Deputy PM Nick Clegg said: "Our Parliament should be the envy of the world - a modern, transparent and democratic institution. Instead it's a relic from the 17th century."

[email protected] VOICE OF THE MIRROR: PAGE 8

He tells Mirror he used his House of Lords payments to look after his dog, buy food and pay his electricity bill DEC 2013Hanningfield says he used taxpayers' cash for aide who was taking care of his poultry MAY 2014

CAPTION(S):

CHANGE Deputy PM Nick Clegg CHANGED t E

EXPOSED How Mirror reported fraud

HOUSE OF FRAUDS Lord Hanningfield outside his home

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Publication:	The Mirror (London, England)
Date:	May 3, 2014
Words:	508
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