Former Castle Point MP Bob Spink lodges appeal against conviction for electoral fraud

Basildon Crown Court confirmed Mr Spink’s appeal has been received and will now be forwarded to the Court of Appeal to be heard.

Spink was spared jail during a sentencing hearing at Basildon Crown Court on Friday, after he received a six month jail term, suspended for two years.

He appeared in court with his election agent James Parkin, who received the same sentence, but has not lodged an appeal at this time.

The pair were convicted of submitting false signatures on nomination papers.

Spink, 69, of Downer Road, Benfleet, was convicted of four counts of submitting false signatures on nomination forms after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Parkin, 39, of Castle View Road, Canvey, was found guilty of two counts of the same offence, was acquitted of three and pleaded guilty to forging two signatures on two different nomination forms.

During the trial jurors heard Spink tricked “elderly and infirm” voters into signing the forms in April 2016, without making it clear what the documents were or which party he represented.

Piers Wauchope, defending Spink, told the court his client relied on various pensions, including his parliamentary and military pensions, for his income of about £30,000 a year.

Parkin was also said to have an average annual income of £30,000.

He went on to say Spink had not been sleeping well, and his reputation after spending years in public service had been ruined. He added: “He says that he has been devastated by this.”

Sentencing them at Basildon Crown Court, Judge Ian Graham said: “This sort of offending undermines the working of democratic structures in this country.

“The democratic process depends on the good faith of those who engage in it, because a lot of what happens is of course quite difficult to police.”

Judge Ian Graham sentenced both Spink and Parkin to a six month jail term suspended for two years, 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered them to pay £5,000 each in prosecution costs.