A FORMER chancellor of Bournemouth University has been found guilty of fiddling his expenses while a Conservative peer.

Lord Taylor of Warwick falsely claimed for travel and overnight subsistence, a jury at Southwark Crown Court decided by a majority of 11 to one.

The 58-year-old told the House of Lords members' expenses office that his main residence was in Oxford, when he lived in west London.

Taylor was the first parliamentarian to be tried and found guilty by a jury over the expenses scandal.

He was accused of making fraudulent claims worth £11,277 on various dates between March 2006 and October 2007.

He maintained he was following the advice given to him by fellow peers, that nominating a main residence outside of the capital was a way to earn money "in lieu of salary".

But during the trial, prosecutor Helen Law said: "Lord Taylor did not have a main home in Oxford and he was not entitled to claim as if he did.

"He knew that and he claimed anyway.”

Taylor said throughout his trial that all he needed was a "family connection" to a property to call it a main residence on his claim forms.

He never stayed there, and had no legal or financial interest in it.

Taylor, a former judge, held the ceremonial Chancellor’s post at Bournemouth University from 2001-06.

Bournemouth University chose him from more than 40 nominations because of his experience in law and the media, two specialist subjects at the university.

At the time, vice-chancellor Professor Gillian Slater said: “He will make an excellent ambassador.”

He came to prominence in 1992 when he ran for parliament in the safe Tory seat of Cheltenham but lost after suffering racist abuse from his own party.

He will remain a member of the House of Lords despite his conviction.