The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to charge him, and the case was dropped.
(meta data) TITLE: Tory election spending: MP admitted to police some claims were wrong | Politics | The Guardian (meta data) AUTHOR: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/rowena-mason (meta data) PUBLISHER: https://www.facebook.com/theguardian (meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 2017-04-10T13:02:00-0400 44 captures 10 Apr 2017 - 27 Sep 2022 About this capture COLLECTED BY Organization: Internet Archive The Internet Archive discovers and captures web pages through many different web crawls. At any given time several distinct crawls are running, some for months, and some every day or longer. View the web archive through the Wayback Machine. Collection: Live Web Proxy Crawls Content crawled via the Wayback Machine Live Proxy mostly by the Save Page Now feature on web.archive.org. Liveweb proxy is a component of Internet Archive's wayback machine project. The liveweb proxy captures the content of a web page in real time, archives it into a ARC or WARC file and returns the ARC/WARC record back to the wayback machine to process. The recorded ARC/WARC file becomes part of the wayback machine in due course of time. The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20170410205330/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/10/tory-election-spending-johnny-mercer-mp-police-some-claims-were-wrong Skip to main content The Guardian - Back to home Become a Supporter UK politics US politics sign in Comment activity Edit profile Email preferences Change password Sign out become a supporter US edition The Guardian - Back to home browse all sections # Tory election spending: MP admitted to police some claims were wrong Admission by Johnny Mercer calls into question Conservative party's claim that all local spending had been correctly declared Johnny Mercer, Tory MP for Plymouth Moor View, argued that mistakes in his expense claims were minor. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA # Tory election spending: MP admitted to police some claims were wrong Admission by Johnny Mercer calls into question Conservative party's claim that all local spending had been correctly declared Rowena Mason Deputy political editor Monday 10 April 2017 13.02 EDT Last modified on Monday 10 April 2017 13.29 EDT A Conservative MP admitted in a police interview that some of his election expenses were wrong but excused the errors on the grounds that he had no previous political experience, according to a report on how police handled the inquiry. Johnny Mercer, Tory MP for Plymouth Moor View, was investigated by police after the general election in 2015 and a file was handed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). It was decided, however, that there was insufficient evidence to charge him with any offence. A Devon and Cornwall police report from the time states that Mercer had acknowledged during an interview that "some of his claims had been wrong" but had argued that they were minor, did not take him over election spending limits and that this was understandable given his lack of political experience. The admission calls into question the Conservative party's claim that "the local agents of Conservative candidates correctly declared all local spending in the 2015 general election". # The inside story of the Tory election scandal – podcast Read more Up to 20 of the party's MPs are still the subject of police inquiries and 12 forces have handed files to the CPS, which is expected to come to decisions in the next few weeks on whether MPs or their agents should be charged. The party has already been fined £70,000 by the Electoral Commission for wrongly reporting national spending on the election campaign. However, there is a high bar of evidence needed for prosecutions of candidates or their agents under the Representation of the People Act, with officers having to prove both that a false declaration was made knowingly and that prescribed spending limits were breached. Alison Seabeck, the former Labour MP ousted by Mercer in Plymouth Moor View, said the incident shows the Conservative party was wrong to claim that all its MPs had correctly submitted their expenses, and called for a review of the system. "I was really concerned to hear that [Conservative party headquarters], after receiving a fine from the Electoral Commission, suggests that it was only national returns over which there were questions," she said. "In Plymouth we have a candidate who I understand, in a police report, said some of his claims were wrong. "Now if this is the case, then the Tory statement is not factually correct and should be questioned. Importantly, the evidence suggests what is needed is a root-and-branch look at electoral law and the way local government officers and police forces monitor and act when there are breaches during elections and after campaigns end. Voters have a right to know that the electoral process in this country is fair and cannot be subverted. It has to be above board and transparent. I would question whether the current way of doing things is fit for purpose." The original complaint against Mercer had alleged that he had incorrectly filed his expenses with the returning officer and that campaign material placed at various locations in the constituency overnight on 6-7 May 2015 did not contain the required imprint information. The CPS found there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence. A subsequent internal report by Devon and Cornwall police into how the allegations against Mercer were investigated concluded that police had acted correctly. It said: "The investigation culminated in Johnny Mercer being interviewed at Totnes police station on 16 October 2015. During the interview he admitted that in hindsight some of his claims had been wrong but understandable, given that he had no previous political experience and no central Conservative party support during his campaign. "He further stated that the mistakes made had been minor and even if they had been recorded correctly, they would not have taken him over the maximum allowed expenses threshold. He denied that he made any claims with dishonest intent. "An advice file was submitted to the special crime office of CPS for review on 19 October 2015. On 12 November 2015 a reply was received from the CPS stating that there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence." The report found that the force "may not have the in-depth experience of investigating electoral offences that it once had, but this will improve over time and does not in itself mean they are incapable of carrying out a thorough investigation of such an offence". A Conservative party spokesman said: "The Conservative party complied fully with the Electoral Commission's investigation, which related to national spending by CCHQ [Conservative campaign headquarters] and the Conservative party's national spending return for the 2015 general election." Mercer had no comment. Crown Prosecution Service General election 2015 Reuse this content (meta data) TITLE: MP Johnny Mercer's campaign expenditure investigated - BBC News (meta data) AUTHOR: BBC News 22 captures 12 Jul 2015 - 17 Aug 2022 About this capture The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20151009010531/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-33444137 ## Accessibility links Skip to content Accessibility Help BBC iD ## BBC navigation News News Sport Weather Shop Earth Travel Capital iPlayer Culture Autos Future TV Radio CBBC CBeebies Arts Make It Digital Food iWonder Bitesize Music Nature Earth Local Travel Menu Search the BBC BBC News ## News navigation Entertainment & Arts Video & Audio In Pictures Also in the News Special Reports The Reporters Have Your Say England selected # MP Johnny Mercer's campaign expenditure investigated Image caption Police are investigating MP Johnny Mercer's election campaign expenditure The expenses of a Devon MP are being investigated following "a number of complaints" about his campaign. Conservative Johnny Mercer secured the Plymouth Moor View seat in May but an allegation about his campaign spending has been made to police. Complaints were also made to the council after his election fliers were posted around the city the night before polling day costing £1,642 to clear up. Mr Mercer paid for the clear up and said he was "assisting the police." He said: "I am confident I haven't broken the law and this allegation is being dealt with by my lawyers." ## 'Commando spirit' Plymouth City Council said it "received a number of complaints" about election campaign materials supporting Mr Mercer on "a number of locations" but said "there was insufficient evidence to take further action". Before polling day, a statement written by Mr Mercer was posted on a website for commandos asking for "some manpower, and a decent dose of Commando Spirit" on "the night-time of 6/7 May". Mr Mercer said "at no time" did he "mention fly posting" and was just looking for helpers to "get out the vote". He said he paid £1,642 for the flier removal because "the local authority was out of pocket for something I ultimately benefitted from". Some of the campaign materials found did not contain official imprints, required by law, and Plymouth City Council (PCC) referred this to the police, which said it had already advised Mr Mercer on the requirement. ## 'Covered in posters' His labour opponent Alison Seabeck confirmed she complained to the council about the number of fliers being left around Plymouth and asked questions about the cost of the clean up. She said: "I've been delivering leaflets since I was four-years-old and I've never seen flyposting on that scale. "On polling day to suddenly wake up with every bridge and every lamppost covered in posters and fliers does influence people significantly and it is improper." This comes as the Labour Party is due to appear in the High Court for overspending by about £6,000 on its general election campaign in Sutton and Devonport in Plymouth. A Devon and Cornwall police spokesman said: "Police received an allegation in relation to Johnny Mercer's election campaign expenditure. Police are currently investigating this matter, and will not comment further at this time." ## More on this story New MPs get used to Westminster life 8 July 2015 General Election 2015: Tories oust Devon Lib Dems 8 May 2015 ## Related Internet links Devon & Cornwall Police Plymouth City Council The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites ## Latest news in this section ### LiveDevon & Cornwall Live: As it happened Full article Devon & Cornwall Live: As it happened ## Top Stories UN proposes Libya unity government The UN envoy for Libya proposes a national unity government, after months of negotiations between the country's two rival authorities. 9 October 2015 Cross-party EU exit group launches 9 October 2015 Northern Ireland reach Euro 2016 8 October 2015 ## Features ### Forever young The creature that holds the key to immortality? ### WW2 'aviatrix' The forgotten woman pilot who flew Spitfires and bombers ### 7 days quiz Why did a US sports team fly 350 toilet rolls to London? ### Lighten up How a century-old gallery let the sunshine in ### Top brass The Brassed Off band are back after avoiding closure again ### Senior service Which jobs could you do if you worked to 100? ### Selena's symptoms A complex condition, but what exactly is lupus? ### Bake Off row Fans defend winner against 'politically correct' jibes ### Bright sky at night Your pictures of the Northern Lights, as seen from across UK ## BBC News Services On your mobile On your connected TV Get news alerts Contact BBC News
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Johnny Mercer (politician)
Political career.:Expenses.
Mercer has been challenged over his expenses several times. His campaign to get elected as an MP in 2015 was subsequently the subject of a police investigation following allegations that it breached rules on campaign spending. Mercer admitted to police that his account of expenses had been incorrect, but argued that the errors were minor and his spending had not breached legal limits.