A Conservative party official has been found guilty of falsifying election expenses after becoming “carried away by her conviction” that the party must defeat Nigel Farage in the 2015 general election.
Marion Little was convicted on Wednesday of two counts of intentionally encouraging or assisting an offence at Southwark crown court.
At the same trial, the Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay was cleared of breaking electoral spending laws when he fought to win the race against Farage, then Ukip leader, for the Kent seat of South Thanet.
Little and Mackinlay were accused of being part of a group of Tory activists who spent twice the legal limit in election expenses on staffing, hotels and advertising.
Sentencing Little, the judge Mr Justice Edis accused Conservative party headquarters of “a culture of convenient self-deception” and “inadequate supervision” which allowed Little to break the law.
“Mrs Little acted dishonestly by preparing [election] returns she knew were not completed nor accurate,” he said. She has received a nine-month suspended sentence and fined £5,000.
Edis said Little falsified documents then presented them to Mackinlay and his election agent Nathan Gray for signing, which “they did so in good faith not knowing what she had done”.
The judge said she was “carried away by her conviction” that defeating Farage was an “overwhelmingly important political objective”.
Election campaigners and Farage criticised the fine and suspended sentence, saying it would encourage bigger parties to continue to break election laws.
The prosecution had alleged that Mackinlay, Little and Gray had knowingly filed “woefully inaccurate” expenditure returns that included a forged signature as they faced the rising challenge of Ukip in South Thanet.
Declared spending on the campaign came in under the strict £52,000 limit, but prosecutors alleged up to £66,600 more was spent on staffing, accommodation, advertising, posters and a bus for Mackinlay’s campaign which was not declared.
Mackinlay, 52, a chartered accountant, faced two charges of making a false election expenses declaration during the campaign, which ended with him winning by a majority of almost 3,000.
Little, 63, who had been employed by Conservative campaign headquarters since 1974, was charged with three counts of encouraging or assisting an offence related to the filing of election expenses. Gray, 29, was accused of two offences of making a false declaration.
Little in effect 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.
The activists included Nick Timothy, who was a close aide to the then home secretary, Theresa May, and subsequently became Downing Street’s chief of staff, the court heard.
After the Conservative victory by 2,800 votes, Gray emailed Little congratulating her on a “truly magnificent election campaign”, the court heard.
Farage told the Guardian that the verdict would reinforce the impression that the political system was skewed towards larger and richer political parties.
“Poor electoral law combined with an ineffective electoral commission mean that the ‘big party politics’ cartel can carry on acting with impunity,” he said.
“It makes the disconnect between voters and their leaders even wider.”
The director of Unlock Democracy, Alexandra Runswick, said Little’s sentence would cause political parties to “crack open the champagne”.
“If the penalty for committing electoral fraud is walking away with a non-custodial sentence and a £5,000 fine that’s an advertisement to break the law, not a disincentive,” she said.
In last year’s general election, a week after it was announced that he would be prosecuted, Mackinlay held South Thanet with an increased majority of 6,387.
Gray was cleared in December after he was found not guilty of one charge of making a false election expenses declaration.
In a statement, Mackinlay described the prosecution as “nearly three years of pure hell” and said he had “extreme concerns” about the clarity of election law.
“I await a statement from the Electoral Commission, the CPS and Kent police as to how they justify millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money in pursuing me in a political show trial,” he said.
A Conservative party spokesman welcome the Mackinlay and Gray verdicts but expressed disappointment at Little’s conviction.
“Given recent court interpretations, there is clearly a need for greater clarity and guidance on the law. We will take further legal advice and continue to meet with the Electoral Commission to seek this,” he said.
