JUDGE SNUBS ELECTORAL COMMISSION OVER “IMPERMISSIBLE” DONATION TO UKIP

Plans by the Electoral Commission to forfeit over a third of a million pounds from a political party have been overruled today(August 7)

The Commission had demanded that the UK Independence Party forfeit £367,697 claiming the donations were impermissible.

But a judge has ruled that the party need only pay about 5% of the total requested: a £4000 cheque from a company based in the Isle of Man and the last seven donations, totalling £14,481, from Mr Alan Bown, who was inadvertently not on the electoral register in 2005.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he was absolutely delighted at the ruling by the judge, but condemned the Electoral Commission and said that if they had been sensible, the case need never have seen the light of day in the first place.

"The Electoral Commission used this case as a way to make up for their complete failures over the cash for honours scandal and the £2.4m donations to the Liberal Democrats by a man now in prison," said Mr Farage.

"They decided to kick the smallest boy in the playground to justify their own existence, thinking that we would not be able to fight back. There was no element of proportionality in their decision which would have been disastrous to smaller parties had they had their way. We have always admitted that we made mistakes over these donations, but they were human error, rather than evasion.

"Other parties have full time treasurers and receive money from the tax payer towards running costs, but a small party like UKIP does not have these luxuries.

"If Mr Bown's company had given the money there would not have been a problem, and a good regulator would have seen this case and discussed it properly with us.

"Unfortunately, we do not have a good regulator, only the Electoral Commission who, instead of behaving sensibly, decided to throw all their toys out of the pram. If they had been less intransigent a lot of time and money would have been saved."