Lord Hanningfield charged with false accounting over expenses

Lord Hanningfield has been charged with false accounting in relation to allegations of expenses fraud.

In a statement, the Crown Prosecution Service said it related to "claims for daily allowance at the House of Lords".

Lord Hanningfield's lawyer said the peer, a former Conservative council leader, was "very disappointed" at the decision.

The peer will appear before Westminster Magistrates Court on 29 October 2015.

A spokesperson for the CPS said: "The CPS has today authorised the police to charge Paul White, known as Lord Hanningfield, with one charge of false accounting in relation to claims for daily allowance at the House of Lords."

The allegations surround dates where Lord Hanningfield spent between 28 and 38 minutes at the House of Lords.

The peer's lawyer, Daniel Godden, said: "We will be fighting this charge all the way."

"My client is very disappointed that the CPS is pursuing any offence in respect of his claim for expenses," he added.

"He has co-operated with the police inquiry into his expenses and has always maintained that he conducted parliamentary work both prior to, and after, attending the House on the requisite dates in July 2013.

"Any day where he left the House after a short amount of time was linked to his continuing ill health, which was documented in evidence given to the Scotland Yard inquiry."