James Devine (born 21 May 1953) is a former Member of Parliament. He was the Labour Party member for Livingston from 2005 until 2010 and Chairman of the Scottish Labour Party between 1994 and 1995. On 16 June 2009, following the 2009 expenses scandal, he was barred by the Labour Party from seeking re-election at the 2010 general election, after reports he claimed expenses for work on his home from a non-existent firm. He was convicted of false accounting on 10 February 2011 and sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment on 31 March 2011. Early life Devine was born and brought up in Blackburn, West Lothian and was educated in Bathgate. He served as the election agent for Livingston Constituency Labour Party and the local MP Robin Cook from the 1983 general election until Cook died in 2005. From 1994 to 1995 he was the Chairman of the Scottish Labour Party. Prior to his election, Devine worked as a full-time trade union official for the Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) and then as Head of Health in the Scottish Region of the public sector union after UNISON was formed in 1993. Before becoming a trade union official Devine was a mental health nurse, having trained and worked at Bangour Village Hospital in Dechmont. Parliamentary career He was selected to succeed Robin Cook as the Labour Party candidate in the ensuing 2005 Livingston by-election following Cook's sudden death. He won, defeating his SNP rival though Labour's majority was reduced by more than 10,000 votes. He made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 25 October 2005. He served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Health Minister Rosie Winterton until he resigned in protest at the decision to replace Trident. He was also a member of the Science and Technology as well as the Scottish Affairs Select Committees. In October 2010, Devine's former office manager Marion Kinley won a complaint of unfair dismissal and breach of contract against him. An employment tribunal ruled that Devine had subjected Kinley to "a course of bullying and harassment". During the hearing, Devine was accused of perpetrating a hoax suggesting that newspapers were investigating the two of them. He was said to have used a friend, Fiona Fox, to pose as an investigative journalist. Compensation of £35,000 was ordered to be paid. On Devine's failure to pay the compensation of £35,000, bankruptcy proceedings