Vince Cable claims ‘games are being played’ over Lib Dems election spend
Sir Vince Cable has claimed “somebody’s playing games” after a probe was launched into the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ spending in the 2016 Holyrood campaign.
The Electoral Commission is considering if the party’s return was “true and accurate” after receiving a complaint, understood to relate to whether spending was correctly attributed between the party and the candidates. The Lib Dem leader branded the accusation “mischief” and said he was confident nothing would come of the probe.
Mr Cable said: “Our judgment is that somebody’s playing games. This isn’t a real issue. The Liberal Democrats followed the advice of the Electoral Commission very, very carefully.
“Somebody’s clearly making mischief. Police looked at this and found nothing to pursue. I would be amazed if there was [something to come of the investigation].
“Our people are absolutely confident they have followed the rules and there isn’t an issue.”
The probe comes four months after Scottish prosecutors announced no action was being taken against Lib Dems MSP Alex Cole-hamilton after a police investigation into his campaign spending.
Mr Cole-hamilton won the Edinburgh West seat from the SNP by 2,960 votes in May 2016. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service concluded in October last year no proceedings should be taken following a “full and careful” look at the circumstances of the case.