A prominent Brexiteer who called for the abolition of the elections watchdog has been nominated by Theresa May to help oversee the body, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.

Karl McCartney, a former MP who last year accused the Electoral Commission of pursuing a "witch hunt" following his exoneration in an election expenses probe, is one of two contenders who will be considered as the Conservatives' representative on the organisation's board.

His nomination by Mrs May follows persistent claims by Tory MPs that the commission has displayed bias against the party's candidates, as well as pro-Leave campaigners.

Lord Gilbert, the Tories' former director of campaigning, has also been put forward by Downing Street.

The peer, formerly Stephen Gilbert, ran the 2015 election campaign, over which the commission called in the police to investigate allegations about the party's spending.

Senior Tories believe that both candidates would help "shake up" the regulator. In recent months the body has faced repeated accusations of bias as it has undertaken multiple investigations into the official pro-Leave group while ruling there were not "reasonable grounds" to launch an inquiry into allegations about the Remain campaign's spending.

A senior Conservative source said Mr McCartney and Lord Gilbert would both help "tackle the imbalance" of the commission.