Tory MP Christopher Davies has been fined £1,500 and ordered to carry out 50 hours of community service for submitting two false expenses invoices.
He was told he had committed"two very serious offences" which were"absolutely intended to deceive" when he appeared before magistrates last month.
Westminster Magistrates' Court heard how the two charges related to the period when Davies was setting up his constituency office following the 2015 snap general election. He had contacted a photographer in his constituency and purchased nine images from him to decorate and display in his constituency office, using his own money to pay the £700 for them initially.
There were two budgets available to him, the Start Up Costs Budget - for office furniture and IT equipment - and the Office Costs Budget, both of which he could claim the full amount from.But Philip Stott, prosecuting, revealed Davies found in February 2016 that only £476.02 was left in the Start Up Costs Budget, with £8,303.75 remaining in the other.
He then proceeded to create two fake invoices, so the £700 cost could be split between the two budgets - £450 to the Start Up and £250 for the other.
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