CPS will announce on Wednesday if any Conservatives being charged with breaking election law

Robert Peston has the news:

The announcement is scheduled to come at 11am.

This means the news will come just before close of nominations in the general election, i.e. in time for a party to change any of its candidates if it wishes to do so.

For the background, see my post on why this could be a big issue in the election and the Electoral Commission’s ruling which resulted in a record-breaking fine on the Conservative Party.

Over on Facebook Caron Lindsay has helpfully quoted the relevant extract from the Ministry of Justice’s guide on the need for care in commenting on the decision and the cases subsequently if any prosecutions are going ahead:

The Contempt of Court Act 1981 provides the framework for all reporting of criminal proceedings in England and Wales. Sections 1 and 2 of the Act create the strict liability rule, which makes it a contempt of court to publish anything to the public which creates a substantial risk that the course of justice in the proceedings in question will be seriously impeded or prejudiced, even if there is no intent to cause such prejudice. In practice this means that ignorance of the law or of the existence of a reporting restriction or its terms is no defence if contempt is committed.

UPDATE: Here is the CPS decision.