UK Conservative lawmaker charged with falsifying expenses

LONDON – A lawmaker from Britain's governing Conservative Party has been charged with making false expenses claims.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Thursday that Christopher Davies faces two counts of forgery and one of providing false or misleading information for allowance claims.

The 51-year-old politician, who was first elected to Parliament in 2015, is due to appear in court on Friday.

Legislators' expenses have been under scrutiny — and several lawmakers have been jailed — since it was revealed in 2009 that members of Parliament had claimed taxpayer-funded expenses for second homes and items including porn movies, horse manure and an ornamental duck house.