Police investigate Ukip leader Paul Nuttall over claims he used a house in Stoke he’s never lived in to mislead by-election voters
The Ukip leader is standing as a candidate in the upcoming Stoke Central by-election - but has come under fire for the address he put down on official forms
POLICE are looking into claims made by the Labour Party that Ukip leader Paul Nuttall has misled voters over his main home.
The candidate in the Stoke Central by-election had put down the address of a home he had yet to stay in on official documents, Labour claimed.
His papers for the 23 February election gave his home address as a house near the city centre.
But when he was quizzed by reporters who found the home without furniture in, Mr Nuttall said: "I will be [living there]. I'm not now."
He added: "It's not a false declaration at all. People are in the process of moving us in."
Labour said yesterday that he had yet to stay in the house - but it was reported that Mr Nuttall has "spent the night on a mattress on the floor" last night.
Electoral Commission guidelines state that candidates must give their current home address on nomination papers.
If he is found to have provided false information, it could land him with a hefty fine - or up to 51 weeks in jail.
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The Ukip leader is the favourite to take the seat - which was made vacant when Labour MP Tristram Hunt stepped down to become director of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Staffordshire police said in a statement: “We have received a report of an allegation of election fraud relating to the Stoke Central by-election on Thursday 23 February 2017.
"Officers will be investigating the circumstances.”
A UKIP spokesman confirmed the party's leader had now stayed overnight at the house, which Mr Nuttall was using as a base while campaigning,
The spokesman added: "I am told that police are investigating.
"They have not spoken to us and if and when they do, we will be perfectly happy to answer their questions."
