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Carlisle Conservative candidate 'not surprised' by expenses decision

John Stevenson Credit: ITV Border

Conservative candidate for Carlisle, John Stevenson, says he's not surprised that no charges will be brought over campaign expenses.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it had examined files from 14 police forces, including Cumbria, into Conservative Party spending during the 2015 election.

In a statement they reported that while there was evidence of inaccurate spending returns, it did not "meet the test" for further action.

"We have considered files of evidence from 14 police forces in respect of allegations relating to Conservative Party candidates' expenditure during the 2015 General Election campaign.

"We considered whether candidates and election agents working in constituencies that were visited by the Party's 'Battle Bus' may have committed a criminal offence by not declaring related expenditure on their local returns. Instead, as the Electoral Commission found in its report, these costs were recorded as national expenditure by the Party.

"We reviewed the files in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and have concluded the tests in the Code are not met and no criminal charges have been authorised.

– Nick Vamos, CPS Head of Special Crime