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Conservative Party fined £70,000 over election expenses Conservative Party fined £70,000 over election expenses
(35 minutes later)
The Conservative Party has been fined £70,000 for a breach of election expenses rules, the Electoral Commission has said. The Conservative Party has been fined £70,000 by the Electoral Commission for breaking election expense rules.
It is the biggest fine ever imposed by the commission, the BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith said. The commission's report highlights "numerous failures" in reporting spending on three by-elections in 2014 and the 2015 General Election.
The fine follows an investigation into alleged misreporting of expenses during the 2015 general election campaign. These included missing payments of £104,000 - and £118,000 that was either not reported or incorrectly reported.
It relates to allegations that the party used national money to fund local campaigns, said the BBC's Norman Smith. The Conservatives said they had accepted last March they had made "an administrative error".
It comes after 12 police forces asked the Crown Prosecution Service to consider charges over election expenses. A spokesman added that Labour and the Lib Dems had also been fined and "there needs to be a review of how the Electoral Commission's processes and requirements could be clarified or improved".
The Electoral Commission's chief executive Claire Bassett told BBC Radio 5 live the investigation had taken much longer than necessary because of "some difficulties" in getting information from the Conservative Party.
She added that having had to get a court order to get information was "very disappointing".
The investigation, which followed an investigation by Channel 4 News into claims the Tories may have broken election law at the 2015 general election and three earlier by-elections, found:
Sir John Holmes, chair of the Electoral Commission, said: "Our investigation uncovered numerous failures by a large, well-resourced and experienced party to ensure that accurate records of spending were maintained and that all of the party's spending was reported correctly.
"The rules established by parliament for political parties and their finances are there to ensure transparency and accountability.
"Where the rules are not followed, it undermines voters' confidence in our democratic processes, which is why political parties need to take their responsibilities under the legislation seriously."
Sir John said it is the third investigation that the commission has concluded recently where the largest political parties have failed to report up to six figure sums following major elections.
The Electoral Commission's investigation covered the national party rather than spending by individual candidates, which police forces have been looking into.
Twelve police forces have asked the Crown Prosecution Service to consider charges over election expenses.