Farage avoids police investigation over alleged electoral law breach | Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage avoided a police investigation into allegations that his general election campaign breached electoral law last year because too much time had passed since the alleged offences.
The Reform Britain leader could still face sanctions from the Electoral Commission over allegations his campaign exceeded spending limits after the watchdog said it was conducting its own review of the allegations.
“We have dealt with a report regarding alleged misreporting of expenses for a political candidate in connection with the July 2024 general election,” Essex police said.
It was stated that the report was prepared on December 5. “Given the Representation of the People Act 1983, which states that any investigation into this type of crime must be commenced within one year, it is concluded that this report falls outside the stated statutory time limit and no investigation can take place.”
The news comes after a whistleblower told the Daily Telegraph that Reform had failed to declare expenses on leaflets, banners, utility bills and the refurbishment of a bar at its Clacton campaign office.
On Wednesday, Labor Party leader Anna Turley wrote in a letter to the Electoral Commission, urging Farage to “urgently come out of hiding” and reveal whether his party had spent more than the £20,660 limit on the campaign.
“If the expenses required to be declared on Mr Farage’s return to Clacton were included in Reform’s national spending statement, or if elements of national party spending were not declared at all, there is a real risk that Reform’s party spending statement will be inaccurate or incomplete, and this is a matter for the Electoral Commission,” Turley wrote.
A Reform spokesman had previously denied the allegations, saying: “The party denies breaching electoral law. We look forward to clearing our name.”
However, Turley called on Farage to address the allegations himself, saying the allegations were “incredibly serious” and claiming that he “has treated the British people with contempt by remaining silent, he needs to come out of hiding urgently on this issue”.
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake previously said: “We all have an obligation to play by the rules to ensure our elections are free and fair.”
Farage faces multiple crises; Chief among these are allegations of open racism during his school days and, more recently, allegations made by party colleagues.
On Wednesday, 26 of his peers at Dulwich college condemned him for what they described as his refusal to acknowledge his behavior at Dulwich college and criticized him for saying his claims about past behavior were politically motivated.
Reform described the allegations as a “witch hunt” and “an attempt to discredit Reform and Nigel Farage”. A spokesman said: “Instead of discussing reform to the substance of our ideas and policies, the left-wing media and the widely unpopular Labor Party are now using 50-year-old smears as a last act of desperation. The British public is seeing through this.”
Farage was also called on to sack one of his party’s mayoral candidates after it emerged that he had said deputy prime minister David Lammy should “go back home” to the Caribbean. Lammy is British.
Reformation England has been approached for comment.
