A judge in London has ruled that four British politicians will be tried in a criminal court over charges of falsifying their expenses.
In the Southwark Crown Court, Justice Saunders dismissed arguments from three former Labour politicians and a member of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords that they were protected from prosecution by parliamentary privilege.
Abuse of the expenses system in Parliament provoked widespread anger in Britain last year, after details of expenses claims by MPs were leaked to the Daily Telegraph newspaper.