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Tory MP accused of filing false election expenses in campaign 'to stop Farage' Tory MP 'spent more than double election spending limit to fight Farage'
(about 3 hours later)
A Conservative MP and his two aides have been accused of failing to declare £66,600 in expenses as they fought off a challenge from Nigel Farage and Ukip in the 2015 general election. A Conservative MP and his two aides spent more than double the legal limit in election expenses as they fought off a challenge from Ukip’s Nigel Farage in the 2015 general election, a court was told on Tuesday.
The South Thanet MP, Craig Mackinlay, 51, from Ramsgate, Kent, faces two charges of making a false election expenses declaration under the 1918 Representation of the People Act. The South Thanet MP, Craig Mackinlay, along with a campaign organiser from Conservative Central Office and his agent, are alleged to have failed to declare up to £66,600. The court heard they then knowingly filed “woefully inaccurate” expenditure returns that included a forged signature.
Marion Little, 62, a party activist from Ware, Hertfordshire, is charged with three counts of aiding and abetting Mackinlay and his election manager, Nathan Gray. Gray, 28, of Hawkhurst, Kent, is accused of two offences of making a false declaration. Declared spending on the campaign came in under the strict £52,000 limit, but prosecutors allege up to £66,600 more was spent on staffing, accommodation, advertising, posters and a bus for Mackinlay’s campaign but was not declared.
The three defendants deny all the charges. Mackinlay, 51, faces two charges of making a false election expenses declaration during the campaign which ended with him winning with a majority of almost 3,000. Marion Little, 62, a party activist employed by Conservative Central Office, is charged with three counts of aiding and abetting Mackinlay. Nathan Gray, 28, is accused of two offences of making a false declaration.
Aftab Jafferjee QC, opening for the prosecution at Southwark crown court in London, said Little had been sent to the Kent constituency from Conservative headquarters to take control of Mackinlay’s campaign because Farage and Ukip were seen as a threat to the party. Aftab Jafferjee QC, opening for the prosecution at Southwark crown court in London, said Little had been sent to the constituency from Conservative headquarters to take control of Mackinlay’s campaign because Farage, the then Ukip leader, was seen as a threat.
“The Ukip candidate in that constituency was Nigel Farage, the Ukip party leader. The threat to the Conservative party had intensified towards that election,” he said. “In those pre-referendum days, Ukip were on the rise and the threat perceived by the Conservative party to their share of the vote only intensified in the lead-up to the 2015 election,” he said. “When Nigel Farage announced that he would step down as leader of Ukip if he failed to win the South Thanet seat, it was clear that this was not going to be any ordinary election campaign.”
Accompanied by a press officer, Little and others had moved into South Thanet to help the campaign several weeks before the election, the prosecution alleged. This generated thousands of pounds in election expenses that had not been declared in official returns. The charges relate to party spending during the 2015 election campaign and before the 11 June statutory time limit on prosecutions.
Little effectively took over the campaign in March 2014, several weeks before the election, and was joined by other Tory activists who stayed in hotel accommodation, the prosecution alleged. This generated thousands of pounds in election expenses that had not been declared in official returns, it was claimed.
“This was a fixed-term election. As a result, there was a well-recognised election expenses system to be followed,” Jafferjee said.“This was a fixed-term election. As a result, there was a well-recognised election expenses system to be followed,” Jafferjee said.
Last year, a week after it was announced that he would be prosecuted, Mackinlay held on to South Thanet with an increased majority of 6,387. Those activists included Nick Timothy, who was then a close aide to the then home secretary Theresa May and subsequently became Downing Street’s chief of staff, the court heard.
The charges relate to party spending during the 2015 election campaign and before the 11 June statutory time limit on prosecutions. In 2015, Mackinlay beat Farage, the then Ukip leader, into second place with a majority of almost 3,000. The prosecution alleged that costs for accommodation, travel, posters, leaflets, advertising and salary costs of Tory staffwere omitted from returns,
The prosecution claimed the election returns were knowingly submitted with false declarations and all three defendants had signed the returns and played a part in the submissions. that were knowingly submitted with false declarations. All three defendants had signed the returns and played a part in the submissions.
The long campaign declaration said the party had spent about £32,661 – about £4,500 below the spending limit. The short campaign declaration claimed £14,875 was spent, a little below the limit. The long campaign declaration – which covered election expenses for 100 days from December 2014 – said the party spent about £32,661 – about £4,500 below the spending limit. The short campaign declaration – covering the last few weeks running up to the general election- claimed £14,875 was spent, a little below the limit.
“It is the prosecution’s case that neither of these declarations were true,” Jafferjee said. “It is the prosecution’s case that neither of these declarations were true. The returns were woefully incomplete and woefully inaccurate,” Jafferjee said.
Gray has admitted a signature on the returns that was supposed to be his was a forgery, Jafferjee said. Jurors were told up to £14,600 in costs were undeclared in the long return and up to £52,000 had not been accounted for in the short return. It is alleged that some expenses incurred during the campaign were wrongly attributed to national Tory expenditure. If they had been attributed correctly, they would have been in breach of spending limits, it was claimed.
Accommodation and travel costs, as well as the salary costs of party staff, were omitted from returns, the prosecution alleged. The court heard Little booked into Royal Harbour hotel in Ramsgate, in the constituency, on 23 March 2015 and stayed until the end of the campaign on 7 May. In an email, Little said she had been “marooned in South Thanet”.
“The returns were woefully incomplete and woefully inaccurate,” Jafferjee said. The trial heard that, after the Conservative victory, Gray emailed Little congratulating her on a “truly magnificent election campaign”.
It is alleged that some expenses incurred during the campaign were wrongly attributed to national Tory expenditure, instead of local spending.
If they had been attributed correctly, they would have been in breach of spending limits, it was claimed.
The court heard Little booked into Royal Harbour hotel in Ramsgate, in the constituency, on 23 March 2015 and stayed until the end of the campaign on 7 May.
In an email, Little said she had been “marooned in South Thanet”.
The trial heard that after the Conservative victory, Gray emailed Little congratulating her on a “truly magnificent election campaign”.
Jafferjee said Mackinlay and Gray knowingly allowed Little to dictate what was declared on the returns, which did not include her costs.Jafferjee said Mackinlay and Gray knowingly allowed Little to dictate what was declared on the returns, which did not include her costs.
The court was told that when Little was first questioned by police about the election returns, she said she was not working for Mackinlay but carrying out national campaign work, and was only occasionally helping Mackinlay in her “spare time”. The court was told that when Little was first questioned by police, she said she was not working for Mackinlay but carrying out national campaign work and was only occasionally helping Mackinlay in her “spare time”.
Jafferjee said she now says she came to Kent to stop Ukip and thebenefit to Mackinlay was “collateral”. Jafferjee said she now says she came to Kent to stop Ukip and the benefit to Mackinlay was “collateral”. “Such an explanation is factually and logically incoherent. How can you defeat Nigel Farage unless Craig Mackinlay was elected?” he asked.
“Such an explanation is factually and logically incoherent. How canyou defeat Nigel Farage unless Craig Mackinlay was elected?” he asked. In last year’s general election, a week after it was announced that he would be prosecuted, Mackinlay held on to South Thanet with an increased majority of 6,387.
The trial continues. The three defendants deny all the charges. The trial continues.
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