Court hears Jared O'Mara went into office 'once' in space of six months

A court's heard in the space of just under six months, former South Yorkshire MP Jared O'Mara only went into his Sheffield office once – and ‘very rarely’ attended Parliament.

The former politician, 41, who represented Sheffield Hallam from 2017 to 2019, is accused of submitting fake invoices to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).

Prosecutors say he tried to fraudulently claim up to £30,000 in taxpayers' money to fund an "extensive cocaine habit".

Giving evidence this afternoon, former staff member Kevin Gregory-Coyne told the court he worked for O’Mara between November 2018 and April 2019. He was based at a business centre in Crookes and his duties included speaking to constituents, taking phone calls and admin.

He told the court that during the period he worked for O’Mara, the MP was physically in the office ‘once, possibly twice’ – and physically attended Parliament ‘very rarely’.

He said he was sometimes due to escort O’Mara down to London, but O’Mara gave a range of what he saw as ‘excuses’ as to why he couldn’t go. He said a number of times O’Mara said he’d injured himself, including that he’d slipped in the shower on two occasions – whilst other times ‘he just didn’t go’.

Mr Gregory-Coyne said there were a couple of times where he was meant to be escorting O’Mara to London but he texted at the last minute to say he wasn't going, and offered no further explanation.

The staff member also spoke about a meeting to which O’Mara arrived ‘an hour late’ and appeared to be ‘on some sort of substance’.

He said: “He was gurning, clenching his teeth, sweating, talking at 100 miles an hour. I said to my colleagues at the time 'I think he's on something'.”

By April, Mr Gregory-Coyne said there was just him and another staff member remaining at the office and he felt like he was ‘running the show’, despite having joined as a junior member of staff six months earlier.

On the 28th of March 2019, Mr Gregory-Coyne asked O’Mara if he was going to vote in a Brexit vote in Parliament, and said it caused ‘some concern’ when the MP said he wasn’t.

He told the court that O’Mara had told him he’d uncovered ‘a conspiracy with Ipsa’ and was suffering from a mental health crises.

Jurors have previously heard that Ipsa - the organisation set up after the expenses scandal to regulate MPs' staffing and business costs - did not pay any of the allegedly fraudulent claims due to a lack of evidence that any of the work had been carried out.

O'Mara is accused of making four fraudulent four claims to Ipsa between June and August 2019 from a "fictitious" organisation called Confident About Autism SY, and submitting two invoices from his "chief of staff" Gareth Arnold for media and PR work that prosecutors say was never carried out.

It is also claimed O'Mara, who appeared in court by videolink, submitted a false contract of employment for his friend John Woodliff, "pretending" that Woodliff worked for him as a constituency support officer.

O'Mara is charged with eight counts of fraud by false representation, with Gareth Arnold jointly charged with six of the offences, and Woodliff jointly charged with one.

O'Mara won Sheffield Hallam for Labour from former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Nick Clegg in 2017, but later left the party after a series of controversies.

He stayed in office as an independent MP but did not contest the 2019 general election.

O'Mara, of Walker Close, Sheffield; Arnold, of School Lane, Dronfield, Derbyshire; and Woodliff, of Hesley Road, Shiregreen, Sheffield, deny all charges.

The trial continues.