Bedfordshire Police are investigating after the independent candidate for Bedford & Kempston MP in the forthcoming election says his boards were vandalised in three different locations.
Tarek Javed says he has had multiple banners removed or vandalised from different locations throughout Bedford in areas designed to give the candidate as much exposure as possible.
Two of the banners vandalised were on the old pub behind Magnet, facing the roundabout linking Kingsway, Rope Walk, Ampthill Road and London Road.
One of the banners here was vandalised and then replaced. it was then vandalised again within 24 hours.
A third banner on Bromham Road just before the new roundabout was removed. All of these were placed with the permission of the owners of the properties.
“As an Ex RAF veteran with a 35-year career, he feels these type of political mind games are not acceptable, the banners not only have a significant cost associated in the printing but are limiting the exposure of our candidate,” said a spokesperson for Javed.
“Up until now we are fighting a fair and clean election, and this is how we should carry on with grace and dignity. These undermining games should not dictate our elections.
“The UK is based on democracy, everyone has a right to vote for who they want to and all candidates have a right to stand up and represent themselves in a fair and clean manner.”
The spokesperson also told us that they have had to chase Bedfordshire Police for an update on the investigation and for a crime reference number, having not heard from them in over a week.
Chief Inspector Mark Farrant of Bedfordshire Police told the Bedford Independent, “We are aware of a report being made in relation to political posters being vandalised.
“This matter is currently being looked into by our officers to establish if any offences have taken place and if there are any lines of enquiry to follow.
“We are working closely alongside all election candidates across Bedfordshire to support them during the election period. This includes giving them direct points of contact into the police and providing them with full safety briefings and advice.
“Officers are continuing to monitor intelligence and online activity to identify community tensions or concerns, as well as putting plans in place to ensure that polling day and electoral counts run safely and as smoothly as possible.
“We would like to encourage people to report any instances of crime related to the election to get in touch. If you have any information or concerns you can report these by calling 101 or use our online reporting tool.”
Mr Javed is not the only candidate who has had their campaign board vandalised.
Earlier last month, shortly after the election was called, Ms Chauhan posted on social media that her campaign boards had been ripped down and vandalised.
