By Martin Banks - 17th June 2009
My case is still going through the courts
Den Dover
A 'shamed' former British MEP says he will not repay €590,000 he claimed in 'unjustified' parliamentary expenses.
Speaking to this website, Den Dover, who did not stand at the recent European elections, said, "My case is still going through the courts so, no, I have not repaid this money."
However, A parliament spokesman insisted that the money must be repaid immediately and that action "will be taken" to recover it.
The case dates back to last year when parliament's authorities ordered Dover,a British Conservative party member to repay the money after he was accused of having used his MEP expense allowances to pay a company owned by his family.
Dover, who was expelled from the Conservative party but remains an MEP until the middle of next month, was in parliament on Tuesday. He said he will refuse to repay it, adding only that he has taken the case to court to clear his name.
"I believe I have a good case and will fight it all the way. It will probably take 18 months to two years to come to court. I am in this for the long haul," he said.
A parliament spokesman said Dover took his case to the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg last week where he argued that he should not have to repay the money until his appeal is heard.
"The court dismissed his case and said he must repay the parliamentary allowance now, irrespective of whether legal proceedings are continuing," said the spokesman.
He said that parliament would now consider "alternative" ways of recovering the money, including making deductions from payments still owned to Dover.
The court is still to rule on Dover's request that the decision to force him to repay the money be overturned.
However, Chris Davies, newly-relected UK ALDE deputy, questioned parliament's 'determination' in ensuring the money is paid back, saying,"I wrote to parliament's secretary-general back at the start of April asking what was being done in this case and am still waiting for a reply.
"The fact is Dover has been found to have misused his expenses and it should be rapaid."
Olaf, the EU anti-fraud unit, is still considering whether or not to open a formal inquiry into Dover's case.
Despite the numerous allegations about expense abuse, it is very rare for an MEP to be ordered to repay some of his allowances.
As a result of this and numerous other cases, parliament's expense regime has been tightened.
MEPs will from this month be obliged to provide receipts for travel and for their €298 a day living allowance. If they don't attend at least half of the parliament's plenary sessions, they also will lose half of their monthly expense allowance.
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