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A second Conservative MP has revealed he was interviewed under caution over allegations about overspending in the 2015 general election.
Twelve police forces have passed files to the Crown Prosecution Service over allegations that Conservatives broke campaign spending laws at the last election, after a 10-month investigation by police forces across the country.
Will Quince, MP for Colchester, said police had told him there would be no further action against him after the interview, which took place in January.
The revelation is likely to increase concern in Downing Street and the Conservative party about the seriousness of the investigations, which could affect several sitting MPs and even lead to election results being declared void if there are prosecutions.
Kent police interviewed Craig Mackinlay, the Tory MP for South Thanet, under caution last week over allegations that local campaign spending limits were breached during his electoral battle against Ukip’s Nigel Farage.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it had been passed files from Avon and Somerset, Derbyshire, Cumbria, Devon and Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Lincolnshire, the Metropolitan police, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire. Staffordshire police also said it had handed over its findings.
There is growing panic in the Conservative party about the scale of police investigations into election spending, which could affect dozens of MPs. A separate Electoral Commission inquiry into whether the national party broke election spending limits is also under way and expected to come to a head within weeks.
They are among the 19 forces that applied for extensions to time limits on investigating election offences last year.
Tory MPs under investigation may be heartened by Essex police’s decision not to proceed with their investigation of Quince, who posted a statement on social media saying the complaint against him was “vexatious and politically motivated”.
Police and the CPS are not naming any MPs or agents who may be under investigation as a result of allegations that spending on local campaigning was wrongly recorded as national spending in breach of election laws.
But Mackinlay remains under investigation along with a number of colleagues, with police expected to meet the Crown Prosecution Service this month in relation to South Thanet.
However, it emerged on Tuesday that Kent police have interviewed Craig Mackinlay, the Tory MP for South Thanet, under caution over his spending returns relating to his campaign against the then Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, in 2015. They have not yet concluded their investigation.
Asked about the interview of Mackinlay, a Conservative spokesman said: “We are cooperating with the ongoing investigations.” Mackinlay did not reply to a request for comment.
More details soon …
The allegations, first uncovered by Channel 4 News and the Daily Mirror, are that spending in marginal seats on a battlebus tour and teams of party officials was wrongly recorded as national, rather than local, spending.
The penalties for wrongly declaring local elections are steep, with possible criminal charges for MPs and their election agents. Results can also be declared void.
It is understood police could meet the Crown Prosecution Service as early as 21 March to discuss bringing a possible charge in relation to South Thanet, where Mackinlay narrowly beat Farage.
Farage, the former Ukip leader, has already said he might be interested in running again in the coastal Kent seat if it there were to be a prosecution and byelection.
Kent police said: “The investigation into this complex matter is ongoing and officers continue to follow lines of inquiry. Therefore it would not be appropriate to comment further.
“Officers from Kent police continue to work with the Electoral Commission as the investigation continues.”
Some of the Conservative MPs under investigation over their election expenses are growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of support from the party’s headquarters.
One has emailed Tory HQ accusing the party of keeping a draft of the Electoral Commission report secret from MPs whose local spending returns are under investigation.
In an email seen by Sky News, Karl McCartney, a Tory MP under investigation who is helping other MPs, accused party officials of trying to save themselves rather than help those who were elected.
He wrote that his colleagues “feel completely cast adrift by CCHQ/whips/the parliamentary party and left to fend for themselves”.
