Tory election win over Nigel Farage could be 'void' due to expenses scandal, judge rules

Kent police granted 12-month extension to investigate breaches of electoral spending limit

Judge Justin Barron said there was a "very significant public interest" in the South Thanet result being fully investigated (Getty)

Nigel Farage may get another chance to win the Westminster seat he lost at the General Election after a judge suggested that the result could be declared void.

The district judge threw out a bid by the Tories to block Kent police from extending their investigation into whether the party broke election spending limits in their fight to stop the Ukip leader from winning the South Thanet seat last year.

Judge Justin Barron said the case was "wholly exceptional” and there was a "very significant public interest in the matter being fully investigated" by Kent Police.

A joint investigation by Channel 4 News and the Daily Mail revealed the cost of dozens of hotel rooms used by Tory officials and activists in the South Thanet constituency had not been declared on the Tory candidate Craig Mackinlay's spending returns, which was limited to around £15,000.

Instead, the costs were declared on the party's national spending returns.

The Conservative party focused a significant amount of resources on fighting the constituency in an attempt to prevent Mr Farage from entering Parliament. In the end he was defeated by 2,812 votes.

Delivering his verdict Mr Barron said: "The combination of circumstances before me is wholly exceptional and goes far beyond the usual circumstances that would exist in a typical case where election expenses are being investigated."

He added: "The consequences of a conviction would be of a local and national significance with the potential for election results being declared void."

Timothy Straker QC, representing Kent Police, argued that the allegations that the Tories had breached election spending limits was serious enough to warrant an extension to the normal 12-month deadline for investigating reports of beaches to the Representation of the People Act.

He said: "We have here a circumstance that is exceptional in an election...we have an allegation of national funds being used - in what some might put it - to buy an election."

He asked: "What could be more exceptional than one party defeated by another using national funds contrary to law?"

Each constituency candidate has a legal limit for expenditure and their agent is also legally responsible for signing off election returns.

Local spending limits are not uniform but are often around £15,000. Last week David Cameron publicly conceded for the first time that his party may have "mis-declared" or "left out" vital General Election expenses.

However, it is unclear whether it was an "administrative error" – the party’s excuse – or deliberate.