The TaxPayers’ Alliance has this afternoon described Elliot Morley’s jail sentence as "justice for taxpayers".
But the campaign group said that public trust in Parliament was still being repaired.
Today a judge at Southwark Crown Court jailed the former Labour environment minister for 16 months for cheating his expenses. He pleaded guilty to claiming more than £30,000 in bogus mortgage payments, relating to his home in Winterton, near Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, between 2004 and 2007.
Matthew Sinclair, Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, gave this reaction:
“Morley’s jail sentence is justice for taxpayers who he cheated and stole from. The damage done by the MPs’ expenses scandal is still being repaired and it will take time to restore the public’s trust in the system, but this is another step down that road. This sentence sends a clear message that even a former minister is not above the law, and stealing from the taxpayers he was supposed to represent is a very serious crime.”