Scotland Yard is assessing two allegations of electoral fraud after claims the Tories offered peerages to seniorBrexit partyfigures to persuade them to stand down in the general election.
The Labor peer Lord Falconer has written to theMetropolitan policecommissioner and director of public prosecutions calling for an investigation into what he said were “Exceptionally serious allegations”. *******
He said it should be investigated as a matter of urgency and must be looked at by police in order to maintain public confidence in the integrity of the election.
His letter to Cressida Dick and Max Hill QC refers to Nigel Farage’s claim that he and eight other senior figures within the Brexit partywere offered peerages.
The Met said: “The MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] has received two allegations of electoral fraud and malpractice in relation to the 2019 general election. The MPS special inquiry team is responsible for investigating all such criminal allegations. Both allegations are currently being assessed.
“The MPS will not be providing comment about individual cases.”
Farage has claimed he had repeatedly been offered a seat in the House of Lords in an attempt to persuade him to “go quietly”.
He said that when that failed, people working “deep inside No 10 ”Had tried to bypass him, going directly to senior Brexit party figures and suggesting eight of them could be made peers if they could persuade him to withdraw more of his candidates.
Boris Johnson has acknowledged that there may have been “conversations” between senior Tories and people in the Brexit party but flatly denied there had been any offers of peerages, saying that is “just not the way we operate”.
In his letter, Falconer wrote: “I wish to raise with you as a matter of urgency a number of recent reports in which senior figures in the Brexit party have alleged that some of their candidates had been approached by the Conservative party in an effort to persuade them to withdraw their candidacies from the upcoming general election.
“I believe these allegations raise serious questions about the integrity of the upcoming general election, and in particular whether senior individuals at CCHQ [Conservative campaign headquarters] or No 10 have breached two sections of the Representation of the People Act 1983. ”
He then cites the parts of the act that refer to “bribery” and “corruptly” inducing or procuring someone to withdraw as a candidate at an election.
Commenting on the letter on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, Michael Gove said: “I’ve got great respect for Charlie Falconer but I think that sounds pretty nonsensical to me.”
Falconer said: “These are exceptionally serious allegations which the DPP must, in accordance with his statutory duty, fully investigate as a matter of urgency. In addition, in order to maintain public confidence in the integrity of our electoral processes and this election, it is crucial that the Metropolitan police also examine these accusations. ”
The row came amid growing pressure on Farage, in the run-up to the close of nominations on Thursday, to stand down Brexit party candidates in all but a few dozen constituencies to avoid splitting the pro-leave vote.
The Brexit party leader had already said they would not contest the 317 seats that theConservativeswon in the (election.)
Suspicions that individual Brexit party candidates were coming under pressure to stand aside were heightened after the prospective candidate for Dudley North announced he would not be running.
Rupert Lowe, a Brexit party MEP andformer chairmanof Southampton FC, revealed his decision as nominations were closing – meaning it was too late for the party to put forward an alternative.
Falconer’s letter includes a mention of Ann Widdecombe, the former Tory MP now standing for the Brexit party in Plymouth Sutton and Devonport.
Widdecombe said she wasoffered a role in the Brexit negotiationsif she stepped aside.
Pressed on Widdecombe’s claim, Gove said: “I haven’t spoken to Ann and I don’t know anyone who has spoken to Ann for months now.”
Commenting on whether he asked anyone in the Conservative party if the claims were true, Gove said: “I think the prime minister has been very clear that we’re not engaging in pacts, negotiations – the decision for the Brexit party to stand down was, as I understand it, a unilateral decision that was taken because the leadership of the Brexit party recognised that if they stood in a range of seats they would imperil the chance of a Conservative majority government. ”
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings