THE Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems is under fire after thousands of pounds were omitted from her election expenses declaration.
Jo Swinson, the MP for East Dumnartonshire who recently won her seat back from former SNP MP John Nicolson, has claimed that her spending during the general election came in under the legal limit by £210.
However, it has now been revealed that almost £7000 of costs were not declared in the battle for the party's top target seat in Scotland.
Swinson claims that £2700 of leaflets and additional materials were never delivered - so they weren't declared as part of her expenses.
On top of that, £4,040 of costs were also excluded as they were included in the "national" spending for the Liberal Democrats in general.
Swinson also claimed 30 per cent of a £2922 bill for staff costs and a £2232 bill for office costs were national spending, which took another £1546 off the total for local spending.
The Lib Dems say all spending has been “apportioned correctly”.
However an SNP spokesperson said: “Voters will find it hard to believe that so much cash could be spent on leaflets that just vanished. It was an election, not an illusion show.
“These revelations raise serious questions over the LibDems’ campaign in East Dunbartonshire. People have a right to know what has gone on here.”
A LibDem spokesperson said: “All expenditure in this election was apportioned correctly and clearly identified in our election return which is now a matter of public record.
“It’s understandable that the SNP are smarting from a disappointing result, but they should accept that they were beaten in a fair fight in seats right across Scotland, and concentrate instead on the important business of running the country.”
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