29 Feb 2012

Former MPs Graham and Jeffries lose travel perks

4:09 pm on 29 February 2012

Former Cabinet ministers Sir Douglas Graham and Bill Jeffries have been stripped of their travel perks following convictions for misleading investors.

The former directors of Lombard Finance and Investments were last week found guilty on four charges of making false statements in a prospectus and other documents issued before the company's collapse in 2008.

As former MPs of long-standing, Graham and Jeffries were entitled to heavily subsidised international and domestic travel worth thousands of dollars a year.

On Tuesday, the Parliamentary Service general manager Geoff Thorn wrote to the men advising them that, under Parliament's rules, they can no longer claim the travel entitlement as they have been convicted of a crime punishable by more than two years in prison.

Prime Minister John Key has indicated no decision will be taken on whether to strip Graham of his knighthood until after sentencing and any appeals.