{"id":247277,"date":"2016-06-02T00:06:58","date_gmt":"2016-06-02T00:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/buy-election-tory-mp-fails-to-block-election-fraud-investigation\/"},"modified":"2016-06-02T00:06:58","modified_gmt":"2016-06-02T00:06:58","slug":"buy-election-tory-mp-fails-to-block-election-fraud-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/buy-election-tory-mp-fails-to-block-election-fraud-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Buy-election? Tory MP fails to block election fraud investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Tory MP\u2019s attempt to block a police inquiry into allegations of election fraud committed by his party has been rejected by the courts.<\/p>\n

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According to Channel 4 News and the Daily Mail, Conservative candidates are said to have written off as \u201cnational spending\u201d<\/em> the cost of transport and hotel rooms for hundreds of activists bused in to rally support in contested parliamentary constituencies, breaking legal spending limits.<\/p>\n

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The rules say\u00a0this spending should have been registered as local costs.<\/p>\n

Last week, Kent Police applied for an extension of the 12-month statutory limit into investigations of potential breaches during the 2015 general election.<\/p>\n

In response, Craig Mackinlay, the Tory MP for Thanet South, and his election agent, Nathan Gray, launched a legal bid to argue that no extension should be granted.<\/p>\n

But the judge at the Folkestone Magistrates Court said he had \u201cno hesitation\u201d<\/em> in granting the police a 12-month extension to prosecute, and that there was a \u201csignificant public interest in this being investigated.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

According to Kent Online, magistrate Justin Barron said: \u201cThe consequences of a conviction would be of a local and national significance with the potential for election results being declared void.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe combination of circumstances before me is wholly exceptional and goes far beyond the usual circumstances that would exist in a typical case where election expenses are being investigated.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Judge today warned the Tories that \u201cthe consequences of a conviction” for election fraud could see election results being declared void.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00c9oin (@LabourEoin) June 1, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Timothy Straker QC, who represented Kent Police, said the allegations clearly warranted an extension.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have here a circumstance that is exceptional in an election\u2026 we have an allegation of funds being used \u2013 in what some might put it \u2013 to buy an election.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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James Laddie QC, who represented the Conservative MP and his agent at the hearing, said Kent Police had not proven there were \u201cexceptional reasons\u201d<\/em> for an extension.<\/p>\n

He told the court it was \u201cgrossly overstating the position that one cannot imagine that this is as serious as it gets.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

There was no evidence to suggest that the election had been \u201cbought\u201d<\/em> and the result in Thanet South would have been the same, he argued.<\/p>\n

In last year\u2019s Thanet South election, however, the margin between MacKinlay and second-placed Nigel Farage, the high-profile leader of the UK Independence Party, was less than 3,000 votes \u2013 making the result susceptible to extra efforts by party activists bused in.<\/p>\n

Under electoral rules, inquiries into such allegations are normally expected to be completed within 12 months of the poll.<\/p>\n

But the law allows for extensions to this where there are \u201cexceptional\u201d<\/em> circumstances.<\/p>\n