The three Labour MPs facing criminal charges over their expenses claims were suspended from the party yestreday.

David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Jim Devine are being prosecuted on several counts of false accounting.

 

A Labour spokesman said today they had been “administratively” suspended and would lose the whip in Parliament.

In a statement, Labour said: “The Labour Party’s general secretary has today suspended David Chaytor, Jim Devine and Elliot Morley’s membership of the Labour Party in light of the serious allegations against them.

“They had already been barred from standing for Parliament as Labour candidates.

“The decision follows a formal process which included representations from the Chief Whip and consultations with party officials over the weekend and means the three MPs have been suspended from the whip and cannot attend any Labour Party meetings.”

The move came as Tory leader David Cameron sought to outflank Gordon Brown on the expenses issue.

Mr Cameron has already withdrawn the Conservative whip from Lord Hanningfield, who is also facing charges of false accounting.

In a speech today, he hit out at the “disgusting sight” of the Labour MPs claiming parliamentary privilege in an attempt to avoid prosecution for expenses abuses.

He accused the Prime Minister of helping to create the culture at Westminster which led to the expenses scandal and the collapse of public confidence in politics.

Mr Cameron has asked shadow leader of the House Sir George Young to draft a Parliamentary Privilege Act which would clarify the rules and prevent the principle being misused.

Mr Cameron, in a speech at the University of East London, said Mr Brown had shown he was not capable of dealing with the issues involved in reforming Parliament.

He described the decision to withdraw the whip from the three Labour MPs charged over the expenses scandal as a “humiliating” climbdown.

Mr Cameron accused the Prime Minister of helping to create the culture at Westminster that led to the expenses scandal and the collapse of public confidence in politics.

“How Gordon Brown can claim to be a reformer with a straight face I just don’t know,” he said.

“He can’t reform the institution because he is the institution: he made it.

“The character of his Government - secretive, power-hoarding, controlling - is his character.

“Just as he’s the roadblock to public service reform, he’s the roadblock to political reform.”

The three Labour MPs vowed to put up a robust defence after their charges were detailed by Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer on Friday.

They argue that they should have been dealt with by the Commons authorities rather than the police.