Conservative candidate charged over poll expenses

Three people including the Conservative candidate for South Thanet have been charged over allegations the party overspent in its campaign for the seat in the 2015 election.The Crown Prosecution Service said there was sufficient evidence to charge three people, among them Craig Mackinlay, who was the MP from 2015 and is seeking re-election on June 8.Also charged are Nathan Gray, his election agent, and Marion Little, a party organiser, the CPS said.Mackinlay will remain on the ballot for the election as nominations have closed and some postal votes will already have been submitted.Speaking on a campaign trip to Doncaster, Theresa May said: “The Conservative party continues to believe that these allegations are unfounded. Craig Mackinlay is innocent until proven guilty and he remains our candidate.”A separate Conservative statement said the party was standing by Mackinlay, and referred to previous allegations against candidates, over which the CPS opted to take no action, as being “politically motivated”.This prompted the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to say the party should be “extremely careful” about making such comments.In 2015, Mackinlay secured a majority of just over 2,800 in South Thanet from Ukip’s then leader, Nigel Farage, following a tense campaign. Farage is not contesting the seat again, with a local councillor, Stuart Piper, representing Ukip. Nick Vamos, the CPS’s head of special crime, said: “On April 18  we received a file of evidence from Kent police concerning allegations relating to Conservative party expenditure during the 2015 general election campaign.“We then asked for additional inquiries to be made in advance of the June 11 statutory time limit by when any charges needed to be authorised. Those inquiries have now been completed and we have considered the evidence in accordance with the code for crown prosecutors.“We have concluded there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to authorise charges against three people. Craig Mackinlay, 50, Nathan Gray, 28, and Marion Little, 62, have each been charged with offences under the Representation of the People Act 1983 and are due to appear at Westminster magistrates court on July 4, 2017.”Since criminal proceedings were active, Vamos added, saying it was important for people to not speculate or comment about the case, potentially prejudicing it.The charges follow allegations of overspending by some Conservative candidates and their agents at the 2015 election.Last month, the CPS announced that no criminal charges would be brought against more than 20 Conservative MPs over the national party’s failure to accurately declare expenditure on a battlebus tour at the last election.The CPS said their constituency spending declarations “may have been inaccurate” but concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove dishonesty or bring a criminal case against the MPs and their agents. At the time, the CPS said the one case outstanding was that related to Mackinlay, and that it would announce the decision soon. Mackinlay was interviewed under caution by police in March over the allegations.Mackinlay faces two counts of having knowingly contravened the Representation of People Act over election expenses. Gray faces three charges over the same law in relation to his role as Mackinlay’s agent. Little faces five charges, two connected to aiding and abetting Mackinlay in his alleged wrongdoing, and three connected to Gray.The three could be tried at a crown court. The maximum sentence is one year in prison or a fine.A Conservative party spokesman said: “The legal authorities have previously cleared Conservative candidates who faced numerous politically motivated and unfounded complaints over the party’s national battlebus campaigning.“We continue to believe that this remaining allegation is unfounded. Our candidate has made clear that there was no intention by him or his campaigners to engage in any inappropriate activity. We believe that they have done nothing wrong, and we are confident that this will be proven as the matter progresses.”Warning that the media and others should beware of prejudicing the case, the Conservatives’ statement added: “There is a broad consensus that election law is fragmented, confused and unclear, with two different sets of legislation, and poor guidance from the Electoral Commission.”