Birmingham returning officer suspended over fraud.

Birmingham returning officer suspended over fraud.

April 13, 2005

Birmingham returning officer suspended over fraud. Respect demands end to postal vote.

In an amazing development John Owen, the Birmingham returning officer, has been suspended after a crate of postal votes from last June's local elections was discovered by police in his office.

Respect national secretary John Rees, who was candidate in Birmingham the euro-elections also held in June, said: 'This shows beyond all doubt that this system of voting cannot be trusted. Postal voting should be suspended in the general election. It is an entirely corruptible system. We are preparing a legal challenge to the use of the postal vote.'

John Owen was suspended last night after the discovery of a hidden box containing an estimated 1,000 uncounted postal votes from the 2004 local authority elections.

The votes, in sealed envelopes, were found during a raid by the head of the West Midlands fraud squad, the council chief executive and chief legal officer.