A former Labour MEP who falsely claimed more than £100,000 in expenses to fund his lavish lifestyle and pay off his wife following their divorce has been jailed for four years.

Peter Skinner, 56, claimed the maximum staff Parliamentary Assistance Allowance (PAA) over a three-year period while representing the South East of England in the European Parliament.

The loss to the European Parliament is claimed by the prosecution to be £132,434.02 and the judge agreed that the exact figure was "in excess of £100,000".

The politician used the extra money to fund luxury holidays abroad, jewellery and gourmet meals. He even used taxpayers' cash to hire snorkel equipment on a Hawaiian honeymoon after handing his ex-wife £10,000.