Accordingly therefore in line with similar-sized organisations we have had to rely upon

Accordingly, therefore, in line with similar-sized organisations, we have had to rely upon assurances and explanations given us by officers of the party.”The Electoral Commission said yesterday that it was having talks with several of the smaller parties, including Respect and the BNP, over how they can improve their bookkeeping.Respect outspent all the other minor parties except for the UK Independence Party, which fielded 496 candidates – nearly 20 times as many as Respect – at a cost of £648,397.The Green Party spent £182,555 among 202 candidates, and the BNP spent £112,068 on 118 candidates. The liability for expenditure incurred by the party under this section must be met not later than 42 days after the end of the relevant campaign period.”The BNP was also rebuked by auditors for failing to keep its accounts in order during the elections for the European Parliament, and for failing to pay £10,000 worth of bills in time – though part of the problem was said to be a sudden increase in membership.The report by the auditors, Silver & Co, said: “In our opinion, the summary of campaign expenditure does not fairly present in all material respects the campaign expenditure incurred by or on behalf of the party between 11 February 2004 and 5 May 2005 in respect of its European Parliament election campaign.”The party has seen a significant increase in membership and activity that has placed strains upon the record-keeping. The party also had a warning from BT about an unpaid phone bill. Another supplier sent an invoice with a handwritten plea: “Ron could do with a cheque!”A note by the auditors said: “We would draw to the Treasurer’s attention breaches of Section 77(2) of the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act. Respect’s accounts reveal that Greenwich Council, in south-east London, threatened to call in a debt collection agency over an unpaid fee of £24 for the hire of a community hall and an office supplies company refused to continue dealing with Respect until it settled a bill for £564.99. Another offender was the British National Party, which failed to settle £10,000 worth of bills in time.
Election accounts for all the smaller parties were made public yesterday by the Electoral Commission.

But six months after the election, Respect still owed £52,241, about one sixth of the total amount – £320,716 – that it spent on the election. The law says political parties have to settle election bills within 42 days, as a precaution against running up debts they cannot pay. George Galloway’s Respect party broke electoral law by leaving a trail of debts equivalent to more than £2,000 for each candidate it fielded in last year’s general election. We had absolutely nothing,” he said.Sarah Chapman, whose brother Sgt Bob O’Connor died on the Hercules, said she first heard of the foam at the publication of an inquiry report last December. She said:”I was absolutely devastated.I tried to ask questions at the time, but I was railroaded off It was like ‘Go away, girl’.”.

“We are really going back almost to the Second World War here. all aircraft should be fitted with fire suppressants in fuel tanks”.Mr Gilbert described how he and his colleagues were reduced to putting coils of chain under their aircraft seats to protect them from small-arms fire and depended on sightings of ground fire as the only means of security. A former RAF pilot, Nigel Gilbert, said yesterday: “Last week, we placed the defence ministers on notice of corporate manslaughter [if] they lose more lives on a Hercules aircraft due to lack of protective equipment.”It has emerged that an internal RAF document endorsed the pilots’ plea from Iraq According to one passage: “… The aircraft had not been fitted with explosive-suppressant foam devices which the pilots had asked for two years after it was hit by fire from the ground on 30 January 2005.
Hercules aircraft now being sent to Afghanistan have also not been fitted with the safety equipment.

The shooting down of a Hercules plane with the loss of 10 lives – the biggest single number of British casualties during the Iraq war – may have been prevented if the Government had agreed to an urgent appeal for safety equipment from RAF pilots, it was claimed yesterday. It will also be told that lack of faith in politics and disillusion with the political system are now so endemic that it cannot be left to politicians to solve themselves .Since the inquiry first reported, the “cash for honours” scandal has sent two of its key recommendations – a mainly elected House of Lords and more state political funding – higher up the Government’s agenda.But commission members want the Government to adopt all the report’s central planks, including an end to the first-past-the-post system, rather adopting a “pick and mix” approach.. It shows an appreciation of one of the biggest issues facing Britain – the parlous state of our democracy. It is a pity that the Labour Party, the party of government, is not able to put forward a senior figure to reflect on why people feel politicians are not listening to them. I am sure delegates will draw their own conclusions.”The Liberal Democrats’ long-standing interest in democratic reform will also be highlighted by speeches from Simon Hughes, the party’s president, and Chris Huhne, the environment spokesman.

Other speakers include representatives from think-tanks, pressure groups and academics. Both Mr Cameron and Sir Menzies will answer questions from the audience.The conference will be told by members of the Power Commission that large-scale reforms of party funding, the voting system, the House of Lords, and the control of power by the Government are now urgent. He is keen to boost the powers of Parliament, a key theme of the Power report, to restore trust and credibility in what he calls a “new politics”.Ferdinand Mount, vice-chairman of the Power Commission, has joined a Tory policy review group on democracy, chaired by the former cabinet minister Kenneth Clarke, which will draw up reform proposals next year.Other speakers at the conference include Douglas Alexander, the minister for Europe; Harriet Harman, the Constitutional Affairs minister; and the Labour MP Ed Miliband – all close allies of Gordon Brown, who welcomed the Power report and may bring in some of its recommendations to bolster the role of Parliament if he becomes Prime Minister.Organisers are disappointed that Mr Brown and Tony Blair have turned down invitations to address the conference.Pam Giddy, the inquiry’s director, said: “We are delighted that David Cameron and Ming Campbell are willing to come along and speak at the Power conference. More than 600 people have already applied for tickets for the all-day event at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre at Westminster.Mr Cameron’s decision to address the conference is a sign that the Tory leader takes constitutional reform seriously. David Cameron and Sir Menzies Campbell will address a conference staged by the Power Commission, which issued a landmark report in February calling for urgent reforms to prevent “meltdown” – including the introduction of proportional representation at general elections as demanded by The Independent’s Campaign for Democracy.
The inquiry, chaired by the Labour peer and QC Helena Kennedy, is holding a follow-up “Power to the People” conference on Saturday to discuss its next moves.