A Police Federation consultant has been convicted of fraud after he lied about payments made to members of the House of Lords. 

Christopher McEvoy, 47, from Islington, claimed he had paid £77,000 to peers for expenses and advice they provided to the Constables’ Advisory Panel between 2014 and 2015. 

However, an examination of bank statements revealed that McEvoy had only transferred £36,000. 

The Constables’ Advisory Panel was set up in 2014 to advise its parent committee on reforms and improvements to policing. 

The committee hired McEvoy’s company, Thornhill Public Affairs Ltd, and gave it £250,000 upfront to support the work of the panel. 

It is not yet clear how much of that money he pocketed for himself – this will be determined at Southwark Crown Court on February 2. 

The money was transferred to Thornhill Public Affairs Ltd in May 2014 and within weeks McEvoy had transferred some money to his own bank account. 

From May 2015 McEvoy was the only person in charge of the money, as all the other directors had left. 

Suspicion grew when Constables’ Central Committee asked for a full breakdown of how the £250,000 had been spent and McEvoy provided a spreadsheet but no invoices or receipts as proof of spending. 

There was no suggestion of wrongdoing by any other Thornhill account directors. 

Sarah Place, specialist prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Christopher McEvoy was trusted with £250,000 to provide services he had promised to deliver but chose instead to defraud his client.  

“Although some of the money was legitimately spent, he also inflated his expenditure to pocket the difference, moved money to his personal account to pay off recurring overdrafts, and moved money into betting accounts. 

“Despite being repeatedly asked he has never provided all his invoices or VAT receipts. 

“Christopher McEvoy is a dishonest man and the jury saw through his claims and convicted him.”