Reform councillor arrested over election paperwork

A Reform UK councillor has been arrested by police on suspicion of making false statements in his nomination papers.

Ryan Coogan was elected to Huntingdonshire District Council in May, as part of a Reform surge that saw Nigel Farage’s party take 1,400 seats across the country.

He also stood as the party's candidate in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election, in which he finished second, last year.

He is the Reform group leader on the council, which is led by a coalition of Liberal Democrats working with independents.

In a statement Cambridgeshire Police said: “A 42-year-old man from Waterbeach was arrested on 24 September on suspicion of making false statements in nomination papers. He has since been released on bail to return to Milton Police Station on 22 December.

Mr Coogan told the BBC he had "always been and will continue to be happy to help police with their inquiries".

But he added that he could not "comment on this [investigation] as I have still not been informed what the actual detail of the alleged issue or crime or other supposedly is".

Last month, when asked about the police investigation, he told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "It's hard to know what they're investigating… I asked the police what they're actually investigating and they wouldn't tell me, so I have no idea about that and I can only assume that at some point something will happen or something won't happen."

At that stage the police said their inquiries followed “an allegation of false statements on a candidate nomination paper” in the May elections.

The elections watchdog, the Electoral Commission, says it is a “criminal offence to knowingly make a false statement on nomination papers”.

The penalty for a false statement is either an unlimited fine and or up to one year’s imprisonment.

In order to stand candidates have to fill in a nomination form, a home address form and a form that says they consent to the nomination.