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 being asked to investigate extraordinary claims that the Tories paid an unemployed woman to pose as a party supporter and help their general election campaign.

It is alleged that an activist leafleting voters in Thanet South one month before the May poll was hired as a temp for the day but this was not declared locally as an election expense.

Quizzed about here 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.

From there, she was allegedly ordered to pound the streets with other genuine party volunteers.

It is not thought she canvassed for the Tories by engaging with voters, which would be a criminal offence, and there is no suggestion Tory MP Craig Mackinlay was aware of the arrangement.

(Image: Reuters)

If true, the cost of her wages should have been declared to Mr Mackinlay and included in his election spending return.

Mr Mackinlay is already facing an investigation into claims that his spending declaration is incomplete. The Mirror revealed three months ago that Mr Mackinlay didn't declare the costs of a string of battlebuses bringing activists to his constituency.

The Conservatives insist the buses were correctly declared as a part of their national election campaign.

The new claims are made by Dover councillor Peter Wallace who has passed his concerns to Kent Police.

Kent Police confirmed that it has received the allegation, which is being reviewed.

We approached both Mr Mackinlay and the Conservative Party for comment but both did not respond.

Councillor Wallace said: “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.

Read more:Be part of the Daily Mirror People's Electoral Commission and help us investigate alleged Tory election fraud

“I can't find any reference to this election expense in Craig McKinlay's returns. I believe this is a serious matter that needs investigating.”

Kent Police this week applied for more time to investigate claims, first reported in the Mirror, that Mr Mackinlay broke electoral law by failing to declare the costs of the battlebus.

But the court hearing was adjourned to next week when the Conservative Party hired a legal team to challenge the process.

Tory Chairman Andrew Feldman had previously promised a "full explanation" of the scandal but earlier this month the Electoral Commission took the party to the High Court in a bid to force it to disclose key documents about election expenses.