North West Conservative MPs caught up in election expenses row

Two North West police forces have passed files to the Crown Prosecution Service over the Conservative Party's 2015 election expenses.

The CPS will now consider the information from Greater Manchester and Cumbria, as well as nine other police forces across the UK, and decided whether to bring charges.

Morecambe and Lunesdale MP David Morris is one of three MPs known to have been interviewed by police who decided no further action was warranted.

"Lancashire Police interviewed me and they saw fit not to take it any further," he said.

Bury North MP David Nuttall said: "This was a part of national campaign spending.

"Spend was not recorded locally and we were not expected to do so."

The row centres on the use of a 'battle bus' which targeted seats during the election.

The allegations centre on whether the bus tour should have been recorded as counting towards individual candidates' spending limits, rather than as part of the larger national spending return.

It follows Channel 4 News allegations that the Tories had incorrectly recorded spending on a "battle bus" tour which took activists to campaign in key marginal seats.