The Metropolitan Police Service Special Enquiry Team (SET) has now finished its assessment of the information arising from the 200 page report published in April 2015 by the High Court following the election petition hearing.
After full consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service a decision has been made that there is insufficient evidence that criminal offences had been committed.
The High Court Judge did not refer any matters from the Election Petition Hearing to the MPS for investigation. However a full review was carried out by specialist detectives from the SET of the High Court report. That review identified five new allegations, one of which could not be pursued as the one year time limit had expired before police were aware of the allegation. It also identified new material in connection with 47 of the allegations originally reported to us.
The Election Petition Hearing was a civil process through the High Court. Within that hearing the rules regarding admissibility of evidence and liability were different to those applied for any criminal prosecution.
In the lead up to, during and after the election on 22 May 2014, the MPS received 164 complaints of election malpractice in Tower Hamlets. Every allegation was recorded and investigated to understand, what, if any criminal offences had been committed.
As part of the original investigation two people were cautioned and there is one criminal trial outstanding.
Due to the specialist and complex nature of the legislation, advice was sought at various stages of this whole process from the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division.
A full review of the policing operation for the 2014 Mayoral Election in Tower Hamlets was carried out with the Returning Officer from the Local Authority. This led to a new plan being implemented for both the General Election and Mayoral Election in 2015, jointly with the Returning Officer. As a result there was a significant reduction in public concern and complaints to police.
The MPS takes any allegations of electoral fraud or malpractice very seriously. We will continue to work closely with the Electoral Commission, and local authorities, to ensure we play our part to protect the integrity of the electoral process in London.
Source: Metropolitan Police
