Zac Goldsmith may have overspent, says election watchdog

Zac Goldsmith was elected as the Tory MP for Richmond Park in this year’s general election.

The former non-dom, worth £200m, insisted his money gave him no advantage at the ballot box – but a Channel 4 News and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism investigation in the summer raised questions over Zac Goldsmith’s election expenses.

Election receipts

The Electoral Commission, which upholds electoral law, began an initial investigation after receiving a complaint over the spending and has now returned its result – that Mr Goldsmith’s election expenses “may have been under-reported”. The watchdog has written to Mr Goldsmith and his election agent to express its concern, but will not refer the matter to police for a criminal investigation.

The Electoral Commission set a limit for parliamentary candidates in Richmond Park of £11,003 to spend on campaign materials in the 23 days up to polling day, which is known as the “short campaign,” and which runs from the day after parliament is dissolved.

Goldsmith’s declaration, signed on the 7 June, stated he came £220 below this with a campaign total of £10,783. However, Channel 4 News and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism looked into his receipts and found apparent discrepancies.

The Electoral Commission has found the expenses return submitted by Goldsmith’s agent was “unclear in places and the way in which various costs were apportioned would have been easier to understand if more information had been given”.

The report said: “We also considered that the way in which some election costs were apportioned between Mr Goldsmith’s parliamentary campaign and the concurrent local government election campaign was not consistent with the Commission’s guidance or good practice.”

It found that the total expenditure on the short campaign period may have been under-reported by at least £1,185. This would have resulted in an overspend of £966 for the period. The amount for total expenditure, however, remains below £35,000, and well within the limit for the aggregate amount of £39,856 for both periods.

Read more about the Channel 4 News investigation into Zac Goldsmith's election expenses

The Electoral Commission’s Director of Party and Election Finance, Lisa Klein, said: “We have looked carefully at all the evidence and we do not believe it would be in the public interest to refer this case to the police for criminal investigation.

“We have written to Zac Goldsmith, and to his election agent David Newman, to express our concern about the way some of the election costs were apportioned.”

Dispute

Speaking on behalf of his campaign team following today’s ruling, Mr Goldsmith said: “We are delighted to have been vindicated as we always knew we would be. There is no doubt that the rules are horribly complicated and it may well be that the Electoral Commission should look to clarifying them in the interests of every parliamentary candidate.

“In the meantime we welcome the fact that it has stated clearly what we always knew – that our total election expenditure across the whole campaign was several thousand pounds less than the prescribed limit.”

Mr Goldsmith appeared on Channel 4 News at the time of the investigation, where he accused Channel 4 News of “sleazy journalism”.

He said he had not been given the chance to respond to the allegations. Channel 4 News first requested an interview with Mr Goldsmith a week before the report was aired.

Watch the Zac Goldsmith interview with Jon Snow below, from July