Brecon and Radnorshire Lib Dems have called for the resignation of sitting MP Chris Davies, who appeared at crown court this week to be sentenced after admitting false expenses invoices.

“The people of Brecon and Radnorshire have been deeply disappointed to see their MP embroiled in such an unnecessary controversy. Chris Davies has put Brecon and Radnorshire on the map for all the wrong reasons,” said a Lib Dem spokesman.

 “Instead of plunging local people into yet more uncertainty with a six week recall process, Chris Davies should resign immediately and give Brecon & Radnorshire the chance to elect a new voice to represent them in Parliament,” he said.

At a court appearance earlier this month The Conservative MP entered guilty pleas to charges of providing false or misleading information for allowances claims contrary to section 10 of the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 and attempting to provide false or misleading information for an allowance claim using an invoice “that he knew to be false or misleading”. Both charges dated back to March and April 2016.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard how the two charges related to the period when Davies was setting up his constituency office following the 2015 snap general election when he purchased a number of photographs to decorate his office at a cost of £700.

The court heard that Davies initially used his own money to pay for the images before creating two fake invoices, so the cost could be split between two budgets - the Start Up Costs Budget and the Office Costs Budget, both of which he could have legitimately used.

Sentencing Davies Mr Justice Edis said, “There was no error here.

“What you did was done quite deliberately and it must have taken you some time to create your fake documents. You created two, after all.

“You presented them at different times to suggest that there were two transactions, and attached a post it note to the second to this effect, thus trying to deceive your own staff.

“The chief aggravating feature is, of course, the breach of trust which is involved. Members of Parliament ask the public to place their trust in them and on election that is what happens. They become the guardians of the nation’s democracy which depends on the public holding them in high esteem.

“It remains shocking that, when confronted with a simple accounting problem, you thought that the thing to do was to forge documents. That is an extraordinary thing for a person in your position, and with your background, to do.”

However, he said he accepted this case was not the same as previous expenses scandals.

Defending, Thomas Forster QC admitted his client was in a “privileged position” as an MP, but that his offending was a mistake rather than a ‘return to the bad old days’ of ‘maxing out expenses accounts’.

Mr Foster said that his client had underspend across all his budgets but was aware there was a ‘very real likelihood’ that his political career was ‘in tatters’ as a result of his actions which had harmed the integrity of Parliament.

“This is a tragically disastrous set of circumstances of which I accept he is the author,” he told the court.

The 51-year-old MP will now face a recall petition which would see him unseated if 10 per cent of his constituents sign it.

But he has vowed to stay in his job as Tory bosses have come under fire for seeminly letting him off with little more than a slap on the wrist

A Conservative spokesman said on Tuesday, “Chris Davies has been given a formal warning from the Chief Whip following today’s ruling.

“He has apologised and it is right that the people of Brecon and Radnorshire now get to have their say about whether they still support Mr Davies.”