Two crime tsars face sack for 'lying' about where they live after police undercover sting... and any new elections could cost taxpayers £3.6million

• Winston Roddick listed his brother’s house in Caernarfon as his address
• The Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales really lives in Cardiff
• Hampshire PCC Simon Hayes clams he lives outside Southampton
• His wife is registered on an address in a Northamptonshire village
  

By Martin Beckfor Thed for The Mail on Sunday

Published: 16:56 EDT, 24 August 2013 | Updated: 12:31 EDT, 21 October 2013

Accused: Winston Roddick, allegedly listed his brother's address as his home instead of his house in Cardiff

Two of Britain’s controversial crime tsars face being stripped of their titles after being investigated for electoral fraud, which could trigger by-elections costing taxpayers as much as £3.6 million.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal  that the police watchdog mounted covert operations after being tipped off that the Police and Crime Commissioners for North Wales and Hampshire allegedly lied about where they lived.

The two PCCs could face prosecution for election fraud offences if the Independent Police Complaints Commission decides they were not based inside their force area on polling day, as the law required.

Winston Roddick is accused of listing his brother’s house in Caernarfon as his address when he really lives on the other side of Wales in Cardiff, and Simon Hayes is said  to spend time in a Northamptonshire village with his vicar wife while having claimed he lived just outside Southampton.

If both men were charged with breaching electoral legislation and then found guilty, they would be kicked out of their posts.

Both are independents with no political party backing, and neither has appointed a deputy so far, so local councillors would be forced to choose unelected members of the PCCs’ staff as temporary replacements, in what critics say would make a mockery of Ministers’ promise that the new crime tsars would improve police accountability.

But then fresh elections would have to be held, at further cost to voters who for the most part ignored last year’s nationwide poll.

Bernard Rix, a consultant who monitors PCCs’ activity, said last night: ‘This is a further unwelcome cost to the taxpayer.’

And Tal Michael, who stood for Labour in North Wales, added: ‘The implications if a commissioner is found guilty of electoral fraud  are that we will need to have  another costly election the public don’t want.’

The unprecedented allegations against the two politicians represent the deepest crisis yet for PCCs, introduced just nine months ago in a £75 million nationwide poll that saw a record low turnout of just 15 per cent of voters.

Doubled-up: Mr Roddick has listed his brother's house, left, in Caernarfon as his home, but has allegedly been living in a housein Cardiff, right, for 20 years

Many commissioners have been accused of cronyism by giving well-paid roles to friends and political allies, while some have faced questions over their expenses.

The IPCC police watchdog has the power to look into allegations of potentially criminal misconduct against crime tsars, and the PCCs  in North Wales and Hampshire are the first to face the possibility of criminal charges over their conduct at the time of the ballot.

The law that introduced PCCs – who have the power to set force budgets and strategies, as well to hire and fire chief constables – makes it clear that candidates must live in the police force area in which they stand.

They had to be on the relevant electoral roll both on the day they were nominated and on polling day, November 15. The Electoral Commission said candidates were warned it is an offence to lie on their nomination forms, but no independent checks were made into the information given.

Mr Roddick, a 72-year-old barrister, listed his address in his election literature as being in the historic coastal town of Caernarfon, within the North Wales police area.

But electoral roll and Land Registry records show his main home  for more than 20 years has been 175 miles away in Cardiff, South Wales. The Caernarfon house is owned by his brother and sister-in-law.

Wrong address? Simon Hayes claims he lives at a Hampshire home but has been staying 115 miles away

Second homes probe: Hampshire PCC Haynes has allegedly been living with his vicar wife in Earls Barton, Northamptonshire

Earlier this summer the IPCC was told that Mr Roddick, who earns £70,000 a year as PCC, had given a false address, and began a secret operation to investigate the homes without his knowledge. Mr Roddick declined to comment yesterday, despite repeated calls to his home, office, staff and his brother.

Meanwhile a similar accusation has been levelled at Mr Hayes, a former Conservative councillor who won the PCC ballot in Hampshire  as an independent and who is paid £85,000 a year.

He has worked in the county for many years, previously owned a house there and gave his address as a house in the small town of Bishop’s Waltham. But he does not own it, although he has been staying there.

Mr Hayes’s wife, Miranda, is a vicar in the Northants village of Earls Barton, 115 miles away, and it has been alleged that he actually lives with her.

A complaint was made to the Hampshire Police and Crime Panel, which scrutinises the performance of PCCs, and passed on to the IPCC.

HOW THE THE PCCS HAVE BEEN CALLED TO ACCOUNT

Exposed: Previous spotlight on crime tsars

The Mail on Sunday has led the way in exposing the waste of public money and questionable decisions made by PCCs.

We revealed that many PCCs were creating a ‘gravy train’ by giving posts to friends and political allies, and were also holding down second jobs in councils and businesses.

Teenage Paris Brown was forced to quit her £15,000 role as the first youth PCC after the MoS uncovered a series of offensive online comments.

And Thames Valley PCC  Anthony Stansfeld had to repay ‘incorrectly claimed’ travel expenses after our exposé.

In another twist, the man Mr Hayes defeated to win the poll – former Conservative MP Michael Mates – is also under investigation for allegedly lying about his address.Police have been looking into claims that Mr Mates, who famously gave  a watch to disgraced tycoon Asil Nadir inscribed ‘Don’t let the buggers get you down’, was living in West Sussex when he stood as PCC.

Last night, Mr Hayes told The  Mail on Sunday: ‘I am content that I completed the nomination form correctly. There is an accusation which is being investigated by the IPCC. I am quite content that it is being investigated.’

Once the IPCC has completed its investigations, a senior commissioner will decide whether to pass the file to the Crown Prosecution Service. In the event that either  Mr Roddick or Mr Hayes was charged with election fraud and convicted, they would be declared ineligible to be PCCs.

The law states that if a PCC is ‘incapacitated’, the local panel can choose a member of their staff as an ‘acting commissioner’. But the local election would then have to be held again.

The 41 polls across England and Wales last year cost £75 million, so holding two again could cost as much as £3.6 million.

An IPCC spokesman confirmed  it was investigating both PCCs, adding: ‘We have received a referral and are at the early stages of an investigation. We are unable to comment further at this stage.’

Jacqui Rayment, who stood as a for Labour in Hampshire, said: ‘The cost of another election on the grounds of misconduct from the standing PCC would be hard to stomach.’ She added that it would nevertheless be wrong to appoint a member of the PCC’s staff without any discussion.

Since publication of this article we have been asked to make clear that Mr Stansfeld had intended to use the Hungerford office as his permanent place of work. The audit report did not conclude it was a “sham” office.  In addition, we confirm that the support officer/ driver, was part-time with a salary of £11,980. Mr Stansfeld has also clarified that he stood down as Executive Member of West Berkshire Council prior to becoming Police and Crime Commissioner, and now receives the basic allowance of £6,149 rather than £15,000 as reported.