Tory MPs could face expenses prosecution before June election Up to 30 people could face charges over Conservative breaches of election spending rules in 2015, according to the Crown […]

Up to 30 people could face charges over Conservative breaches of election spending rules in 2015, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The MPs and activists will find out whether they are to be charged before the general election – because the deadline for prosecution will elapse before the 8 June date.

This means some Conservative MPs could face prosecution while campaigning for re-election in the snap election called by Theresa May.

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

If they were subsequently convicted, a by-election would automatically be triggered.

More than a dozen Tory MPs feature among the cases being mulled by the CPS.

Battle bus

The allegations relate to the Tory “battle bus”, which travelled from constituency to constituency during the 2015 election campaign. Conservatives are alleged to have omitted spending related to the battle bus from constituency expense reporting.

Visiting campaigners who arrived with the bus may have had their expenses, including hotels, paid for nationally rather than locally, in breach of rules, according to claims.

Local campaign budgets are capped at between £11,000 and £16,000, with those who breach the maximum faced with punishments ranging in severity up to imprisonment.

The charges must be made before the general election, which has been pencilled in for 8 June, a spokesperson for the CPS told the Independent.

No MP has yet been charged with any crime.

14 police forces

Karl McCartney and William Wragg are the only MPs who have thus far confirmed they are under investigation.

Files were sent by 14 police forces to the CPS, including Avon & Somerset, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon & Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Lincolnshire, the Metropolitan, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire.

The original deadline elapsed last year, but the CPS secured a year-long extension, which will begin to expire in May.

Andrew McGill, spokesman for the CPS, told Buzzfeed: “The position hasn’t changed for us. We’ve received files from 14 different police forces in relation to Conservative party spending for the 2015 General Election. There are charging decisions to be made.”

A Conservative spokesman said: “We are cooperating with the ongoing investigations.”

The Electoral Commission already fined the Conservatives £70,000 for election spending breaches in 2015.