What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Police are investigating claims that the Tories paid an unemployed woman to pose as a Tory volunteer during the 2015 election.

It is claimed that an activist leafleting voters in South Thanet one month before the May poll was hired as a temp for the day.

Quizzed about her role, it is claimed that she denied being a Tory and said: “I’m not. I was at the job centre and saw this advert for a job with an unknown employer”.

The woman, who is not named, was allegedly then put on a Tory battlebus on April 9, given a Conservative rosette and taken by bus to the Phoenix Youth Club in Sandwich, Kent.

The source, who spoke to the woman on the day, has twice been interviewed by Kent police.

The Tories declined to comment.

(Image: David Cameron steps off the battle bus)

He was first quizzed by detectives after we first reported the allegations last May and was recently quizzed for three hours by officers from the Kent and Essex Serious Economic Crime Unit.

The Conservative Party last night declined to comment on the claims, which were first made by Dover councillor Peter Wallace.

Councillor Wallace said last year: “On April 10th the Conservative Party’s Battle Bus visited Sandwich, in South Thanet, with a number of activists on board. During the day they distributed leaflets, campaigned in the town centre and held a meeting at the Phoenix Centre youth club.

“After the meeting a member of staff at the Phoenix Centre spoke to one of the activists and asked her why she had travelled from London to campaign in Sandwich for the Conservative Party.

“The activist replied that she wasn’t a supporter of the Conservative Party but was actually unemployed and was recruited in her local job centre in London to campaign for the party.

“She was paid to travel on the bus, hand out leaflets and take part in the campaign while wearing a blue rosette.

"I believe this is a serious matter that needs investigating.”

There is no suggestion Mr Mackinlay, who won, knew of the alleged arrangement.

Detectives are investigating whether Mr Mackinlay broke the law by failing to declare all his local election spending.

He is one of more than two dozen Tory MPs under investigation for alleged election fraud following an investigation by the Mirror and this week it was confirmed that 12 police forces had sent files to the CPS.

Last March, we revealed allegations that Tory MPs in marginal constituencies were helped by bus loads of party activists in the final days of the 2015 election but failed to properly declare the costs, including bus hire and hotel bills.

The Electoral Commission this week upheld our findings and revealed that some of the nearly £4,000-a-day cost of the buses should have been registered by local candidates.

We found more than 20 MPs who were within £2,000 of strict local spending limits.

Failure to declare election spending is a criminal offence under the Representation of the People Act and MPs and their agents face up to a year in jail and an unlimited fine if found guilty.