"Dirty Tricks" In Ealing Southall Election Campaign

Allegations of dirty tricks have overshadowed the final day of campaigning for today’s by-election in Ealing Southall as the Tories accused Labour of orchestrating an ambush on David Cameron. And late tonight it was announced that the police have commenced an official investigation into "irregularities" in the election campaign.

The Tories claim to have identified a woman who confronted David Cameron during a walkabout in the constituency as being a Labour campaign activist. The woman, who allegedly purported to be a passer-by, was involved in a heated exchange with the Tory leader as she criticised proposals from one of his policy groups for tax breaks for married couples. The exchange was widely reported in the media, including in The Times. The Tories said yesterday that the woman looked remarkably similar to a Labour supporter wearing a party sticker whose photograph appears in a by-election leaflet with Virendra Sharma, the party’s candidate.

Further allegations have come to light this evening, suggesting that a prominent member of either the Labour or LibDem election campaign team may have impersonated a Conservative team member in answering questions posed by a newspaper journalist. Were this to be proved correct, it would constitute an extremely serious criminal offence under the Representation of the People Act.

For further information as it becomes available, watch this space...