New dirty tricks claims

Dramatic new claims of ballot rigging emerged today as voters headed for the polls in the biggest test of public opinion since the general election.

The start of voting was overshadowed by allegations of fraud and dirty tricks.

Labour's General Secretary was plunged into the row after allegations he encouraged activists to breach the spirit of electoral rules.

Matt Carter is accused of urging them to sweep up lastminute votes by setting up bogus ballot boxes outside official drop-off points for electors in all postal voting areas who have missed the deadline for returning forms by mail.

The extraordinary new claims raise the spectre that some of today's results will be challenged in court.

And the fiasco surrounding the Government's postal voting experiment is likely to give some losing candidates strong grounds for appeal.

The row over the pilot scheme escalated after an investigation revealed Mr Carter sent out a 25-page document to party workers suggesting ploys to collect lastminute votes.

Although his suggestions may not have breached the letter of the law, they will be deeply embarrassing for the Government, which is already reeling from the political fall-out of the chaotic handling of the scheme.

The latest allegations follow an investigation by The Times.

It claims Mr Carter suggested that activists should wear red rosettes to maximise the number of last-minute votes collected in the bogus boxes, and to deter supporters of other parties from handing over completed voting slips. It is claimed the document, sent to all party workers, also deliberately defies guidelines from the Electoral Commission, by suggesting that "if asked" campaigners should collect completed ballot papers at the doorstep.

All the allegations of electoral fraud relate to areas of the country involved in the postal voting experiment - the North-West, North-East, East Midlands and Yorkshire & Humberside. Investigations involving three police forces are already under way into claims of electoral abuses.

A Labour Party spokesman said the document revealed in The Times was "an early version" of its handbook.

He added: "It was never actually issued to party activists for these elections and the line about ballot boxes was removed from the text. It would have been within the spirit and the letter of the law, but because we take our responsibilities in these areas seriously, we decided to revise the text and the document that went out to activists did not have that line in it."

First results from the council elections are expected at 11pm - though the outcome of the London Mayoral contest will not be revealed until tomorrow night. All three main party leaders are under pressure in the elections.

Labour was braced for heavy losses in the council elections - in which more than 6,000 seats are being contested across 166 local authorities in England and Wales.

The outcome of the European elections will not be known until Sunday evening after voting has been completed across the EU.