Fraudster Yolande Beckles Hunted By Angry Mob

I've been woken by tales of Yolande Beckles and her exciting adventures in Hollywood. Not Hackney election fraud, but definitely Hackney fraud worthy of a mention! The new site discussing Yolande Beckles, Yo Ho Ho! It's Beckles Watch, looks well worth a visit. Who ever said that living in Hackney was a barrier to success? According to this website, if you have a positive attitude, your fraud can lift you out of the misery of Hackney and transport you even as far as Hollywood!

CPS May Prosecute Over East End Election Fraud Allegation

According to the East London Advertiser, the Crown Prosecution Service is studying a report into an allegation of electoral fraud in East London. The inquiry is believed to centre on the Weavers ward in Bethnal Green, successfully won by Fazlul Haque for Labour last month. A CPS spokesman said: "We have had preliminary discussions with the police about Councillor Haque. They have sent us a report and our discussions continue." The Met's acting Borough Commander for Tower Hamlets, Steve Bending, said: "We are investigating an allegation of electoral fraud in relation to the local election in Tower Hamlets on May 1."

Former Councillor Faces Election Fraud Prosecution

The Halifax and Calderdale Evening Courier reports that a former Calderdale councillor could face prosecution for election fraud. Mohammed Chaudhary Sagir, 62, of Gibbet Street, Halifax, was formally reported to the Crown Prosecution Service. The allegations relate to five incidents of making false statements to obtain proxy votes for this year's local elections. A 19-year-old man who was arrested in April has been released without charge.

Police Probe Vote Rigging Claims

Accrington police are set to probe allegations of vote rigging at the local elections staged earlier this month. Conservative councillor and Cabinet member Allah Dad, retained the Accrington's Central ward seat from Labour's Tariq Ali and Lib Dem's Ifty Khan in this month's council elections with a majority of 220. However complaints about the high number of proxy votes cast - up to 10 times higher than past elections - have led to a police investigation. 50% of all proxy votes cast throughout Hyndburn's 12 wards were made in the Central ward election. A police spokeswoman confirmed an investigation into the number of proxy votes was taking place but said: "We are unable to confirm at this point the nature of the complaints which led us to investigate."

Revolving Doors For Current And Former Jailbirds

In a move reminiscent of the Soviet Union at the time of Stalin and Trotsky, disgraced ex-mayor Mohammed Choudhary has been eliminated from the history of Peterborough after his portrait was removed from its display position in the town hall by former mayor Marion Todd. Councillor Todd took the unprecedented step after Mr Choudhary, Peterborough mayor from 1996 to 1997, was jailed for rigging votes in the 2004 Peterborough City Council election. And in a simultaneous move that could not have been scripted by the most cynical observer of politics, the The Peterborough Evening Telegraph reports that Gul Nawaz - a city councillor who served a one-month jail term for a £3,000 benefit fiddle in 2002 - was elected as the town's new deputy mayor.

Police Strike "Anti-Fraud Deal" With Political Parties

According to ic Sefton and West Lancs, police in West Lancashire have struck a deal with local political parties after they promised to tighten up procedures following a police investigation into alleged election fraud. Detectives have ruled that no criminal charges will be brought over inaccuracies on nomination forms at the local elections in West Lancashire held on Thursday, May 1. In the Moorside (Skelmersdale) and Derby (Ormskirk) wards, Conservative and Labour nominations respectively were not in accordance with Electoral Commission guidance, the police investigation determined. However, police say no further action will be taken after undertakings were given on behalf of both parties to improve practice and procedure.

Police Raid Home In Voting Fraud Investigation

Police have raided another home as part of their investigation into vote-rigging in Slough, according to the Slough & Langley Observer. Officers are reported to have "stormed a house" in Wellesley Road Slough at around 7.30am on Tuesday. Although they carried out a search warrant nobody was arrested.

The search was part of the on-going probe into election fraud during May 2007 elections when Labour's Lydia Simmons lost her Central ward seat to former Tory Eshaq Khan after 23 years. A special election court earlier this year found that fake names were used to cast votes.

Khan faces criminal charges along with five other men, including Slough deputy mayor Mohammed Aziz. The group are due back at Reading Crown Court on Friday, August 8.

Police Probe Into May 1st 'Election Fraud'

According to the Ormskirk Advertiser, police have confirmed they are investigating allegations of fraud following the May 1 local elections in West Lancashire. It is believed a woman claims her details were featured on the form supporting a candidate without her consent and police are trying to establish if it was due to a misunderstanding, a clerical error or was something more sinister before considering possible criminal charges.

Detective Sergeant John Cass, the investigating officer, said: "We've had some allegations made in connection to some potential irregularities in the election process with the West Lancashire District Council elections. The investigation is at a very early stage and we need to speak to the people involved." Election fraud of this kind can carry a punishment of an unlimited fine or up to one year in jail, according to the Electoral Commission.

Labour MP Throws Vote Rigging Mud In Commons

According to reports in This Is Lancashire, Bury North MP David Chaytor abused his position during Prime Minister's Question Time this week to make allegations of postal vote rigging against Bury Council's Conservative leader Bob Bibby. The Bury North backbencher was supposed to be asking Gordon Brown what he could do to help low income families facing economic pressure. But as Tory MPs cheered his mention of Bury, which the Conservatives had won days before in the local elections, Mr Chaytor added: "In Bury, we now have the only Tory leader in the country who has been subject to a police investigation into fiddling pensioners' postal votes."

Councillor Bibby said later that Mr Chaytor must be afraid of losing his seat if he had to stoop so low. "I think it was completely and utterly out of order, and had no relevance to what he was supposed to be asking," he said. "If he wants to crawl out from under a stone and lower himself to that standard, let him carry on. I'm not going down that road. He is supposed to be the MP for the whole area, and I don't think it will go down well with his constituents."