Three Labour MPs and a Conservative peer have said they would defend themselves against charges of false accounting arising from their claims for parliamentary expenses.
Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer announced that charges under the Theft Act were being brought against Scunthorpe MP and former agriculture minister Elliot Morley, Bury North MP David Chaytor, and Livingston's Jim Devine, as well as Conservative peer Lord Hanningfield.
Lord Hanningfield, who is leader of Essex County Council, was suspended from the parliamentary Conservative Party and resigned his position as a frontbench business spokesman in the House of Lords.
The charges, dating back to 2004, carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
Lord Hanningfield said he was "extremely disappointed" to be charged and insisted all his expenses claims were made in good faith.
In a statement, the three Labour MPs said: "We are clearly extremely disappointed that the DPP has decided to instigate proceedings against us.
"We totally refute any charges that we have committed an offence and we will defend our position robustly."
The MPs said they believed their cases should have been dealt with by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, adding: "We are confident of our position and have been advised by eminent QCs."
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "very angry" as he arrived in Exeter for a regional Cabinet meeting. He said: "We took steps some months ago to remove the right of these people to stand as candidates for the Labour Party. These are very serious criminal allegations.
"All criminal allegations have got to be investigated. It's a matter now for the courts. We have got to get rid of that old politics, it cannot be part of the new system. That's why I put forward proposals not just to reform the MPs' expenses system but to reform the way that Parliament works and the link between Parliament and the people of this country."
