British Prime Minister Theresa May recently called for snap elections in an effort to avoid “possible criminal prosecutions,” says Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
She made the comments Monday by departing from her published script while at the Scottish TUC conference in Aviemore, a town in the Scottish Highlands.
May recently called for a snap election to be held in June in order to bolster her position before going into two years of negotiations with the European Union about Britain’s departure from the bloc.
Sturgeon asserted that May’s surprise move was aimed at strengthening her party, silencing the dissent and avoiding prosecution on breaches of election spending limits by up to 20 Tory MPs, which is under investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service (CSP).
According the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), the British premier called for a snap vote “for one purpose and one purpose only – to strengthen the grip of the Tory party and crush dissent and opposition … and to do so before possible criminal prosecutions for alleged expenses fraud at the last election catches up with her.”
She further suggested that the Conservatives are “buying” elections.
“And whatever else happens in this election we should not allow the Tory party to escape the accountability for any misdemeanors that may have led to them buying the last general election,” stated the SNP leader.
The Scottish first minister made the remarks as the CSP was considering reports from 12 police forces in regard to fraud over election expenses.
The snap election is scheduled to be held on June 8, nearly a year after the majority of Britons voted for Brexit to end decades of alliance with Europe.