Annoying, isn't it? Apparently officials applied the "interests of justice" test to determine whether the MPs should receive legal aid. The test says if a defendant is at risk of losing his or her liberty - that is, they could go to prison if convicted - then they are entitled to legal representation paid for by the state.
The "interests of justice" test began to be phased out in January to be replaced by a means test for all Crown Court cases in England and Wales - but Southwark Crown Court is not yet part of the new scheme, so it did not apply to the MPs. Justice Minister Jack Straw told the BBC: "It is simply a matter of chance that [the means test] is yet to be introduced in Southwark, where the former MPs are being tried. Decisions about legal aid are made by the courts, and MPs and ministers have no control over the award of legal aid in individual cases."
All four are accused of theft by false accounting and if found guilty, face a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. Police began investigating after details of all MPs' expenses claims were leaked to the Daily Telegraph. The men's lawyers have said that they intended to argue that they should be dealt with by Parliament rather than the courts because their actions were protected by parliamentary privilege. Privilege traditionally guarantees MPs and peers immunity from slander laws for statements in parliamentary debates and also relates to access to parliamentary buildings.
