Court hears evidence over forged signatures

A woman whose signature was forged as part of attempts to get a celebrity chef elected as a politician told a court she felt ‘violated’.

Gillian Hughes was giving evidence in the trial of four people accused of manipulating votes in favour of Kevin Woodford in the 2010 Douglas East by-election.

The court heard an application for a proxy vote was fraudulently made so someone could vote for Mr Woodford on behalf of Mrs Hughes.

After a visit from Mr Woodford's campaign team, Mrs Hughes received a letter from the government.

She phoned the number on the letter and was told her application for a proxy vote had been granted.

However, she had not applied for one.

She told the court: "I felt quite violated to be honest with you that somebody could do that kind of thing. So I went to the police."