The former trade union official, who was the MP for Livingston, in Scotland, pleaded not guilty after he was accused of submitting bogus expense claims that included £5,505 for printed stationery from Armstrong Printing.

Devine, who according to reports was bankrupted last week, was found guilty by a jury last month and has now been sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment, making him the third parliamentarian to be sent down since the expenses scandal.

The false invoices were submitted at the height of the expenses scandal, when leaked expenses claims were regularly appearing as front page news.

Sentencing Devine, Mr Justice Saunders said that the former MP had made the claims "knowing full well just how wrong it was and the effect that false claims were having on the public's belief and confidence in parliament".

He added that Devine had "set about defrauding the public purse in a calculated and deliberate way" and that "these offences constitute a gross breach of trust which, along with others, has had the effect of causing serious damage to the reputation of parliament".