Poll officers taught to spot forged names on post votes

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John Bennett, deputy returning officer for the Greater London Authority, said that two in five postal votes in Thursday's poll may be checked manually.

He added: "Two officials from every borough have been trained by the Forensic Science Service in recognising handwriting. The trainees were told how to detect forgeries by studying pen pressure on parts of the signature."

A study today by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust claims that measures to improve choice for voters, such as wider use of postal votes, are harming the integrity of the electoral process.

Its report, Purity Of Elections In The UK: Causes For Concern, calls for all voters to produce photographic ID, "robust" systems for monitoring postal and proxy votes and restrictions on campaign spending by parties at constituency level. It says that elections in the UK fall short of international standards and claims the Government has failed to improve public confidence.

There have been at least 42 convictions for electoral fraud in Britain in the past seven years.