Reform councillor arrested

Ryan Coogan, elected to Huntingdonshire District Council in May as part of Reform UK's surge, has been arrested on suspicion of making false statements in his nomination papers.

Reform's election success

Coogan was part of a Reform surge that saw Nigel Farage's party take one thousand four hundred seats across the country in May. He also stood as the party's candidate in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election, finishing second.

Arrest and bail conditions

Cambridgeshire Police arrested the forty two year old from Waterbeach on September twenty fourth on suspicion of making false statements in nomination papers. He was released on bail to return to Milton Police Station on December twenty second.

Coogan's response

Coogan told the BBC he had always been happy to help police with their inquiries but could not comment on the investigation as he had not been informed what the alleged issue or crime was.

“I have still not been informed what the actual detail of the alleged issue or crime or other supposedly is”

The legal penalty

The Electoral Commission says it is a criminal offence to knowingly make a false statement on nomination papers. The penalty is either an unlimited fine or up to one year's imprisonment.

“criminal offence to knowingly make a false statement on nomination papers”

What candidates must declare

To stand for election, candidates must fill in a nomination form, a home address form, and a form confirming they consent to the nomination. Police inquiries followed an allegation of false statements on a candidate nomination paper in the May elections.