Marshchapel scouts delivered Tory election leaflets

The leaflets contained information on Conservative candidates Daniel McNally and Paul Rickett for the East Lindsey District Council elections

A scout leader has resigned after getting children in his troop to deliver election leaflets on behalf of two Tory council candidates.

The group leader and other volunteers in Lincolnshire, quit after a complaint was made, the Scout Association said.

According to the Grimsby Telegraph, the scouts were used by Daniel McNally and Paul Rickett in return for a year's use of allotment space to grow vegetables.

Mr Rickett said it was "nothing more than an innocent decision on my part".

The newspaper reported Matt Whall, leader of the Marshchapel scout group, near Grimsby, had apologised in a message posted on the village's Facebook page, saying he had not done it for financial gain but had "hoped to run a soup kitchen for the community using veg grown in the village".

"I did not ask the scouts to distribute leaflets for political gain or promotion but did something purely with the motive to provide an enriching opportunity for the young people in the group," he added.

'Never my intention'

Mr Rickett, a candidate in the East Lindsey District Council election, said: "It is regrettable that, what was, in reality, local community minded people trying to help each other out, has taken on a political dimension.

"This was never my intention. Asking the scouts to help me leaflet around Marshchapel for me was nothing more that an innocent decision on my part."

The Scout Association said it was "clear this was a genuine error" and the leader's resignation prompted other group leaders to quit, but did not disclose how many had left.

"Members of the movement in uniform, or individuals when acting as representatives of the movement, must not take part in any party political meetings or activities that endorse any particular political party or candidate," a spokesman said.

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The Marshchapel scout group would continue to operate and volunteers were working to "minimise the impact to the young people" in the club, the spokesman added.

Mr McNally and the Conservative Party have been approached for a comment.

• The candidates standing for election to East Lindsey District Council in the Marshchapel & Somercotes ward on Thursday 2 May are: Sandra Dykes - Independent; Trisha Newman - Labour Party; Daniel McNally - Conservative Party; Paul Rickett - Conservative Party.