Police investigating possible criminal behaviour in a parliamentary expense scandal said on Monday they had sent files on four legislators to prosecutors. Skip related content
The step, which could lead to charges being filed, is a further blow to the prestige of parliament, already tarnished by excessive expense claims by dozens of legislators from all the major parties.
Police said the four were from both houses of parliament, but did not identify them or say to which party they belonged.
The police said they were still investigating a small number of other cases.
The police move puts the damaging expenses issue back in the headlines and could embarrass Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other party leaders in the run-up to an election due by June.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it would decide whether to bring any charges "as quickly as is reasonably practical."
If charges are brought they would be the first prosecutions over the expenses scandal.
Disclosures that members of parliament claimed expenses for everything from floating duck houses and cleaning a moat to mortgages that had already been paid off have angered voters, particularly during a deep recession.
More than 100 members of parliament have said they will not stand for re-election following the scandal.
Party leaders had hoped to defuse the issue by supporting plans to scale back lawmakers' perks.
(Reporting by Tim Castle; Editing by Adrian Croft)
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