(Image: Colin Mearns)
Police are assessing whether a number of Reform UK candidates in Scotland broke election spending rules, with the party admitting “administrative errors” were made.
The party has confirmed four Holyrood candidates did not submit returns dealing with how much they spend on their campaigns and the value of their donations.
An investigation by the Sunday Times and The Ferret claims a further five former candidates who did submit returns ultimately failed to sign off on their spending properly.
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said it was “assessing” the information.
None of the candidates who failed to declare their spending and donations were elected and the party has said mistakes were made while the new political team were “learning the ropes”.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party is led by Malcolm Offord in Scotland and secured 17 MSPs, making it joint second with Labour at May’s election.
Electoral law states all candidates must supply officials with records of any donations they received worth more than £50, as well as spending on campaigning activities and materials, including leaflets, public meetings and social media advertising.
The deadline for submissions relating to the Scottish Parliament elections in May was June 15.
A spokesman for Reform UK in Scotland said: “These were simple administrative errors from a new party, with some seeking office and others behind the scenes very much learning the ropes.
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“Each individual regrets not showing the necessary diligence and has since sought to rectify the situation by providing the requested information. Lessons have been learned.”
The four candidates who allegedly failed to declare spending over £50 included David McLennan, who was elected Reform UK’s first councillor in Scotland after winning in Whitburn and Blackburn, West Lothian, last year.
Dan Clarke, who stood against Education Secretary Mairi McAllan in Clydesdale, and Malcolm Jones, who took on Health Secretary Angela Constance also allegedly did not provide the details, alongside Sean O’Hagan in Glasgow Anniesland.
Candidates are also required under electoral law to sign a declaration confirming the information they have filed is accurate to the best of their knowledge, with the investigation reporting that David Lees, Andrew McLaughlin, Cameron Rose, Davie Thomson and Charles Turner – from Edinburgh constituencies – allegedly failed to sign off the submission.
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “Information has been received and is being assessed.”
All other candidates for the other Holyrood parties complied with the rules.
Last month, the Metropolitan Police launched a criminal investigation into claims senior figures in Nigel Farage’s party broke rules around foreign donations, following an undercover investigation by Channel 4 News.
And earlier this week, a separate undercover investigation by ITV News found candidates making racist and sexist remarks.
One would-be Reform UK MP told an undercover reporter Muslims could not be British and asylum seekers should be put in “concentration camps”.
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Excerpts from the investigation released earlier in the week included councillors and candidates within Reform using racist language.
In one excerpt, black children were referred to as “animals”, while in another a Reform member said his area had become “infested” with Asian families.
In a separate clip, Reform MP Sarah Pochin described the party as “chauvinistic”, adding: “They just exclude you if you’re a woman.”
Speaking earlier in the week, Mr Farage said that while Reform carries out vetting “you can’t vet people for what they say in the future”.
He added: “I put it to you, if you went and spoke to hundreds of Conservative councillors and tried to provoke them you would find all sorts of things and all sorts of comments said.”
In a statement to ITV, Reform said: “Reform UK has improved and prioritised its vetting procedures, but from time to time, a handful of individuals who do not share our values will initially make it through vetting.
“This is the same for all organisations. However good the vetting, one cannot vet a future comment.
“There is no room for racism in Reform UK. We always respect due process of investigations and whilst these are ongoing it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases.”