According to today's Guardian, seven people have been charged with conspiracy to defraud Bradford's returning officer during the 2005 General Election, in a case involving post vote fraud, and will appear in court next month.West Yorkshire Police said that the Crown Prosecution Service recommended charges following a joint probe with the city's returning officer into "voting patterns and postal votes". A police spokesman said: "We wish to emphasise in the strongest terms that Bradford Council, the returning officer and West Yorkshire Police have a firm policy of close liaison with regard to any allegations surrounding elections and are committed to ensuring that all elections are conducted fairly and impartially."
During the May 2005 election, former Bradford returning officer Philip Robinson referred 252 cases of possible election fraud to the police. In April 2006, West Yorkshire Police passed files on 11 men and two women to the CPS following its investigation in Bradford.
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A word about evidence. Most of what people think is material evidence of a criminal offence is in fact either hearsay evidence (asserted, but without any proof) or circumstantial evidence (suggests guilt but does not prove it). For an introduction to the subject of evidence, try: