At last! Tories admit expenses errors
TORY chairman Lord Feldman may have inadvertently ‘mis-declared’ or ‘left out’ vital General Election expenses at the heart of a growing fraud inquiry, David Cameron indicated yesterday.
Ten police forces and the Electoral Commission are now investigating claims the Conservative Party spent thousands more than the law allows in marginal seats across the country during last year’s election.
The Prime Minister yesterday insisted the party had not ‘done anything wrong’, but he appeared to acknowledge some expenses may not have been declared in compliance with the letter of the law.
Asked if Lord Feldman would have to resign, Mr Cameron told ITV’s Peston On Sunday programme: ‘I don’t believe we have done anything wrong. If there were mis-declarations or things left out we have to put those in place, but I’m confident we can answer all the questions that are being put to us.’ An investigation by the Daily Mail and Channel 4 News has revealed concerns about whether the accommodation costs of activists bussed around the country by the Tories to campaign in key constituencies were recorded properly. In many cases, expenses appear to have been recorded as national expenses, or not recorded at all, rather than added to the costs in the constituencies where the campaigning took place.
A deliberate breach of individual candidates’ spending limits – usually about £15,000 – is a criminal offence. Any MP found guilty would be barred automatically from holding public office for three years.
In theory, the Conservatives could lose their 12- seat majority if cases are proved. Last week it was reported Labour candidates also hosted a bus without noting the cost.
Mr Cameron yesterday said it was normal practice to record so- called ‘ battle bus’ expenses as national campaign spending, rather than adding it to the total in the seats where the campaigning took place.
He said: ‘In the end, I’m responsible for everything but I’m very confident the Conservative Party is gripping this. Lots of political parties have these bus tours and that is a national expense. I think the Labour Party’s done that, the Liberals have done it, we’ve done it.’
SNP MP Pete Wishart last night wrote to the Metropolitan Police to call for a wider investigation into whether the Conservatives attempted to subvert the Representation of the People Act. He wrote: ‘There are ten police forces investigating the expenditure of 28 Conservative candidates. The Conservative Party must be properly investigated to ascertain if there was any systematic attempt to circumvent electoral legislation.’
The Electoral Commission has accused the Conservatives of dragging their feet over the issue. Earlier this month it took the unprecedented step of taking High Court action to force the release of campaign spending.
The Tories deny wrongdoing and instead blame ‘administrative’ errors.
The SNP was accused of ‘hypocrisy’ by the Tories for attacking them on battle bus costs while not registering the individual costs of Nicola Sturgeon’s helicopter flights to 12 constituencies during the general election campaign. The SNP declared the total £35,450 cost as part of its national campaign expenditure.
Did Dave’s chum Lord Crony break the law in a frantic bid to thwart Ukip? Daily Mail, March 11