“Much also will be made of the fact that I have a past conviction…” – an unusual election leaflet
One for the ‘very unusual election leaflets’ pile, courtesy of a Conservative candidate in Cambridgeshire:
As the BBC reported of the firearms offence at the time:
Jonathan Farmer, 57, of South Brink, Wisbech, was handed a 21-month jail term, suspended for two years.
He denied the offence, saying the World War Two German Walther PPK pistol was kept as an antique. He was convicted at Cambridge Crown Court in July.
Farmer was also ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work. A forfeiture order was made over the gun.
Good luck (and thanks for highlighting the leaflet) to Lorna Dupre, who Jonathan Farmer is standing against.
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Good idea to check out the credentials of your opposition candidates! Easier to do now.
Good to see Conservatives championing the Rehabilitation of Offenders. Of course he couldn’t be a PCC candidate with that criminal record. Nothing wrong with pleading ‘not guilty’ if he really thought that was a defence to the charge, as it is for CPS to prove the case. But, being an antique isn’t listed as a defence under the Act. S5 can carry 10 year prison sentence as a maximum. Wonder how it came to light after all this time?
He was convicted in 2014, so not that long ago: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-28375606
“Over 30 years ago” referred to when he said he was given the gun, but a casual reading suggests that was when he was convicted.