The fake leaflet. Colum Eastwood Colum Eastwood

SDLP LEADER COLUM Eastwood has slammed those who he says have been posting fake election leaflets bearing his face to voters across Derry.

Eastwood described the letters as “dirty tactics” and said he was disgusted to hear that the material had been delivered to potential voters. 

The leaflet itself claims that he has spent over £35,000 on election materials to date and asks constituents to donate to cover the costs. 

Eastwood said: “I am disgusted that fake letters purporting to be from me have been delivered to houses in Derry. Let me be clear, these letters are not from me nor are they from anyone associated with my campaign.

“This is an organised attempt to lie to the people of Derry, to poison our democratic process and those responsible should be ashamed. The people of Foyle know that this is a close race between myself and Elisha McCallion. Voters should make up their minds on our records, not a campaign of dirty tricks.”

Related Reads

Column: The results of the UK general election could hugely impact the Irish border - and not for the first time

Explainer: A basic guide to how voting works in the UK (and why Brexit has changed the game)

An SDLP Spokesperson added: “The letters which have been falsely circulated in Colum Eastwood’s name amount, in our view, to a breach of electoral law. The SDLP has referred this matter to the Electoral Commission and to the PSNI for investigation.

“The election in Foyle will be a close race. Some candidates are obviously panicking if they have to stoop to lies and criminality to damage Colum Eastwood.”