17:01

The German couple who were denied a vote in the European parliament elections at the polling station this morning despite sending in their paperwork to register three weeks ago (see 12.47pm) have been contacted by Tower Hamlets council to tell them they can vote, after all.



EU citizens in UK complain of being denied right to vote Read more

In an extraordinary development the London borough council checked the CCTV footage at their offices for 2 May, the day Kat Sellner and Moritz Valero said they handed in their forms.

They have spent the last two days trying to persuade the council that it was their mistake that they had not received a ballot paper.

When they arrived at the polling station on the Isle of Dogs this morning they found their name was crossed off and were put in touch with the council again who told their paperwork didn’t arrive until 16 May, two weeks after the deadline.

In a phone call videoed by the Guardian they insisted again that was a council mistake and they would not be “silenced”. They warned they would make a freedom of information request for CCTV footage of 2 May.

Six hours later Tower Hamlets said they had phoned them with the “good news”. They had checked the CCTV footage and agreed that it was their mistake and told them could vote.

SNP MP Joanna Cherry who asked Theresa May yesterday over the general administrative failings to ensure EU citizens could vote today said it was a “grave and serious error” in electoral procedures.

She said May had been “dismissive” when she had asked her to ensure EU citizens could vote but she would not be letting the matter rest.