Before becoming a trade union official Devine was a mental health nurse, having trained and worked at Bangour Village Hospital in Dechmont.
[10] He served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Health Minister Rosie Winterton until he resigned in protest at the decision to replace Trident.
[12] In October 2010, Devine's former office manager Marion Kinley won a complaint of unfair dismissal and breach of contract against him.
[15] On 2 June 2009, Devine was referred to the Labour Party's 'star committee' with a status of 'urgent' in connection with allegations involving expense claims submitted for a company that never existed.
[16] He had gained the backing of his local party members a week prior to the hearing, but the panel unanimously recommended he should be deselected.
The first charge alleged that between July 2008 and April 2009 Devine dishonestly claimed £3,240 for cleaning services using false invoices.
He denied the charges, though in a live Channel 4 interview when questioned: "So you got a receipt from somebody you were paying as a member of staff, and submitted it as stationery?"
"[20] On 27 May 2010 Devine, Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Lord Hanningfield (Paul White) appeared at Southwark Crown Court for a preliminary hearing.
[25] He was freed under the home detention curfew scheme, under which prisoners who are deemed to pose a low risk are tagged and released early after serving at least a quarter of their sentence.