Self-Inflicted Wounds
Former Labour MP - Jim Devine - is a 'broken man' according to press reports following the 16 month jail sentence handed down for fiddling his expenses.
At a human level it is hard not to feel sorry for someone - who has 'blown up 'so spectacularly in the public eye - but it also has to be said that Jim Devine has also been his own worst enemy.
In a separate employment tribunal case - the former Labour MP's was also found to have unfairly dismissed his office manager - who was subsequently awarded £35,000 in damages.
Both were former employees of Unison - before Jim Devine became an MP - but he never accepted any responsibility for his treatment of the woman - who complained of being harassed.
The taxpayer may also be left holding the baby when it comes to Jim Devine's legal costs which - because of the protracted nature of his defence - come to a whopping great £40,699.
A life in ruins, yes - but all of it self-inflicted.
At a human level it is hard not to feel sorry for someone - who has 'blown up 'so spectacularly in the public eye - but it also has to be said that Jim Devine has also been his own worst enemy.
In a separate employment tribunal case - the former Labour MP's was also found to have unfairly dismissed his office manager - who was subsequently awarded £35,000 in damages.
Both were former employees of Unison - before Jim Devine became an MP - but he never accepted any responsibility for his treatment of the woman - who complained of being harassed.
The taxpayer may also be left holding the baby when it comes to Jim Devine's legal costs which - because of the protracted nature of his defence - come to a whopping great £40,699.
A life in ruins, yes - but all of it self-inflicted.
