Police investigate Conservatives over call centre use during election

Police are carrying out a "significant" investigation into claims the Conservatives may have acted illegally by using a call centre in Wales to directly contact voters during the General Election.

The Conservative Party has denied the allegations. A spokesman declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

South Wales Police said they were carrying out an investigation of "scale and significance".

The call centre allegedly directly contacted voters in marginal seats

Secret footage obtained by Channel 4 News suggested the Tories may have broken data protection and election laws by contracting the Blue Telecoms centre in Neath to directly contact voters in marginal seats.

According to the allegations, call centre workers were not just pushing out the message of the Conservative Party, but canvassing for individual candidates in the seats, which is against the law.

The call centre workers were allegedly phoning people who had asked not to be called. They targeted 10 marginal seats, according to Channel 4.

In a letter to the Labour MP for Caerphilly, Wayne David, South Wales Police said the investigation was being conducted by its economic crime unit, which had experience in dealing with "electoral integrity investigations".

It added: "The investigation is of sufficient scale and significance that South Wales Police are unable to offer any specific timescale.

No charges were brought over claims of expenses fraud the 2015 vote

"Rest assured that the officers within this department have the required specialist skills and expertise for this often challenging area of business and will, as with all investigations, act in a diligent and expeditious manner."

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) also confirmed it was investigating the case.

Mr David welcomed the investigations, saying the allegations "are extremely serious and the public need to have confidence in our electoral process. That is fundamental to our democracy."

The Tories had also been the subject of an investigation regarding the 2015 election, on that occasion over expense rules. But the Crown Prosecution Service said they would not face charges.

(SKY NEWS)