A disgraced former West Australian MP has been labelled the "Pinocchio of parliament" by a judge who jailed him for lying about his military service and qualifications.
Former Labor MP Barry Urban claimed to have been part of an international police taskforce in 1998 that investigated atrocities in Bosnia.
He publicly wore a medal which he said was awarded for that service but turned out to be fake.
In fact, he had never served in the Balkans, although he continued to claim otherwise including under questioning from a parliamentary committee.
Urban pleaded guilty earlier this year to a number of offences, including knowingly giving false evidence before parliament.
WA District Court Judge Carmel Barbagallo on Thursday jailed Urban for three years, saying that by lying about his military service the 52-year-old had disrespected "every serviceman and woman who has served their country in war-torn locations".
"The audacity and arrogance you have demonstrated in lying about your wartime experiences is extraordinary," the judge said.
"You have created a fabric of lies upon lies upon lies, about matters which are important, and in circumstances which are serious.
"You are, in fact, the real life Pinocchio of parliament."
Urban also admitted forging documents suggesting he had a University of Leeds degree and a University of Portsmouth certificate of higher education.
He included those documents as part of his application to join the WA Police Force which was granted in 2005.
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