Two men sentenced for incorrectly declaring donations to Northampton South Conservative Association

Two men have been given suspended jail terms after a court was told how they made political donations without declaring their real source.

Leonard Western, 72, and Nirav Sheth, 49, appeared before Northampton Crown Court this morning (Friday, January 27) to admit one charge each under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act.

Both were accused of making donations to Northampton South Conservative Association without correctly reporting that the money had come from a businessman with alleged connections to the organisation.

The court heard that neither men had any previous convictions and they had been persuaded by others to send the money to the association through their own bank accounts.

Western, of Holmside Rise, South Oxhey, Watford, who was unrepresented, told the court that he had been an ‘honest, hard working man’ all his life and had never been in trouble before.

"I thought I was doing a favour for someone,” he said.

The court was told that Western had donated £10,000 through his bank account to the association in April 2014. The money had later been repaid to him by the businessman in question to disguise the fact he was the source of the original donation.

Sheth, an accountant of Uppingham Avenue, Stanmore, Harrow, donated £1,500 to the organisation in July 2014. He said he had been a life-long Conservative supporter and had been asked by a friend if he wanted to donate to the association. Most of the money was later repaid to him by that friend.

The court was told that Sheth had to borrow from family and friends to fund his own legal defence and had acted naively, with no knowledge of any ‘nefarious’ motives.

The Honorable Mrs Justice Jennifer Eady heard that Sheth had been left a ‘broken man, personally, professionally, and financially.’

Sentencing the pair to six weeks in jail, suspended for eight months, Mrs Justice Eady said: “In the present case, the harm arises from the loss of transparency when a financial donation is made to the benefit of someone seeking political power, where the true identity of the donor is not disclosed; that means there

cannot be a proper audit or investigation of the financial support given to those who might obtain public office. It goes to the very integrity of our democracy.

"It is clear that one of the key objectives of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 is to establish and ensure transparency as to the finances of political parties, in particular to allow voters to be aware of financial relationships between donors and those whom they fund. There are obvious reasons why it is important that the electorate knows who is funding those who seek political office; such transparency is vital in a functioning democracy.”

Today’s proceedings are the first brought under the act.

Four other men and one woman charged with similar offences have denied the charges and will stand trial later this year.

One man admitted a charge against him and was sentenced earlier this year.