Would-be MP jailed for fraud

David Hurst, a would-be Labour MP who siphoned pounds 31,000 from party coffers in Bath to pay for a lavish lifestyle to impress party bosses, was jailed for 15 months for forging cheques.

Hurst, 35, confessed when police confronted him. He admitted four specimen charges of forgery, asking for 38 other offences to be considered. He was made treasurer of the city's Labour Party in 1992 and last July was chosen to fight the Bath seat, won by Liberal Democrat Don Foster from former Tory chairman Chris Patten in 1992. Bristol Crown Court heard he quit as treasurer and prospective candidate in September last year after being exposed for claiming dole and housing benefits for four years while working. An party inquiry found pounds 30,000 missing from constituency coffers.