Jared O'Mara

Two old friends of the ex-Labour MP for the Sheffield Hallam constituency were "sadly persuaded to go along with his dishonest claims", a prosecutor tells ...

The prosecutor said: "The reason for that appears to have been that he was funding a significant cocaine habit of which both Gareth Arnold and John Woodliff were plainly aware." He told jurors: "O'Mara was plainly unable to cope with the office he held, was in poor mental health and was heavily addicted to cocaine that he was abusing in prodigious quantities." Financial investigations revealed O'Mara was "living to or beyond his means and in dire need of cash", the court heard. In the summer of 2019, however, Arnold contacted South Yorkshire Police after "reaching a point at which he was no longer willing to participate in the fraud", the court heard. Setting out his argument, prosecutor James Bourne-Arton said Arnold and Woodliff were "old friends of Jared O'Mara and sadly were persuaded to go along with his dishonest claims". Jared O'Mara, 41, was in "poor mental health" at the time and abusing the class A drug in "prodigious quantities", Leeds Crown Court heard.

Jared O'Mara, 41, who was MP for Sheffield Hallam for two years, regarded 'taxpayers' money as a source of income', Leeds Crown Court was told.

Above: O'Mara giving his victory speech after winning his seat from former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg (seen in the background) in 2017 The jury heard no such work took place. Arnold initially told police he supplied the services and was entitled to the money and then said his work was voluntary, but was told by O'Mara the expenses claims were legitimate. Mr O'Mara, 41, who was MP for Sheffield Hallam for two years, regarded 'taxpayers' money as a source of income that was his to claim and use as he wished,' Leeds Crown Court was told. O'Mara, who was elected as a Labour MP in June 2017 and remained in office until he stepped down ahead of the December 2019 general election, was said to be 'fully aware of the claims that were being made and knew that they were false'. Jared O'Mara, 41, who was MP for Sheffield Hallam for two years, regarded 'taxpayers' money as a source of income that was his to claim and use as he wished', Leeds Crown Court was told.

Former Sheffield MP Jared O'Mara is standing trial accused of fraud alongside 'old friends' Gareth Arnold and John Woodliff.

Arnold, Mr Bourne-Arton said, began by claiming he had supplied the services and was entitled to the money before going on to say his work had been "voluntary" but he had "been assured by O'Mara that the claims were permitted." The court heard he "appears to accept that he had never provided paid consultancy to Jared O'Mara and that the invoices supporting claims for payment for that work were false." He said he was "the person who puts his claims in for him" and his "Chief of Staff." He said: "Financial investigations revealed Jared O'Mara was living to or beyond his means and in dire need of cash. In the email, Mr Bourne-Arton said he "falsely asserted that he was entitled to be paid the invoices that related to personal services supplied by Gareth Arnold." The court heard Woodliff denied doing any work for O'Mara before being employed by him in June 2019 and denied having anything to do with Confident About Autism SY. Mr Bourne-Arton said: "It was Gareth Arnold, who plainly had reached a point at which he was no longer willing to participate in the fraud, who first went to South Yorkshire Police in the summer of 2019 and revealed the dishonest claims that he and O'Mara had submitted. The prosecutor described Arnold as a "long-standing friend" of O'Mara who worked as his "Chief of Staff" in June 2019. During his arrest, the court heard Woodliff said: "I knew it was dodgy." It was said Woodliff was put on the payroll for O'Mara as a constituency support worker. O'Mara and Woodliff also pretended Woodliff worked for O'Mara, even though he did not, the court heard. All of the applications made in the case were rejected by IPSA, the court heard.

Jared O'Mara is on trial for allegedly submitting 'dishonest' invoices to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority - prosecutor James Bourne-Arton ...

The prosecutor said: "The reason for that appears to have been that he was funding a significant cocaine habit of which both Gareth Arnold and John Woodliff were plainly aware." Mr Bourne-Arton said: "(Arnold) described an undoubtedly sad state of affairs in which O'Mara was plainly unable to cope with the office he held, was in poor mental health and was heavily addicted to cocaine that he was abusing in prodigious quantities." The court heard that Arnold, a longstanding friend of O'Mara, went to South Yorkshire Police in the summer of 2019 after "reaching a point at which he was no longer willing to participate in the fraud". Mr Bourne-Arton, prosecuting, said Confident About Autism SY was "an invention of Jared O'Mara that he hoped to slip through as a legitimate claim, no doubt seeking to hide behind the fact that it related to his disability if ever challenged". "The prosecution say that Jared O'Mara viewed Ipsa, and the taxpayers' money that they administered, as a source of income that was his to claim and use as he wished, not least in the enjoyment of his extensive cocaine habit," Mr Bourne-Arton said. "Arnold and Woodliff were old friends of Jared O'Mara and sadly were persuaded to go along with his dishonest claims."

Former Labour Sheffield MP Jared O'Mara is due to stand trial today for seven counts of fraud while in office.