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Ashley Mote, MEP for the South East of England, has been found guilty of dishonestly obtaining more than £70,000 (€103,000) in housing benefit, council tax relief and income support.
Mote, 71, a member of the far-right Independence, Tradition and Soverignty (ITS) group in the European Parliament, was found guilty on 17 counts and not guilty on three charges. The jury at Portsmouth Crown Court is still deliberating on a further five charges.
Mote was elected as an MEP in June 2004, representing the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP); however, he was expelled from the party in July of that year, when the charges against him were made, and has since sat as an independent.
17 August 2007 |
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