Newbury Balloon Festival organiser convicted of fraud

Former Newbury Labour Party candidate Richard Garvie will be sentenced later this year

NEWBURY Balloon Festival organiser and former Newbury Labour Party candidate Richard Garvie has been convicted of fraud.

Mr Garvie, who now lives in Corby, Northants, was found guilty at Wellingborough Magistrates’ Court after buying train tickets worth almost £900 using a card for a closed bank account.

The 30-year-old, who also organised Thatcham Fireworks last year, denied the charges against him, claiming that although he intentionally ran up the debt there was no evidence to suggest he intended for East Midlands Trains not to receive payment for the 17 different transactions.

He was charged after buying £890 of East Midlands Trains tickets between Kettering and London St Pancras over the course of a year through the accounts.

Mr Garvie, who was standing as a Labour Party parliamentary candidate for Wellingborough and Rushden in this year’s general election, has been suspended by the party.

He will be sentenced later this year, but says he has launched an appeal against his conviction.

Representing himself during a trial at Wellingborough Magistrates’ Court, Mr Garvie said: “I fully accept it was the case that purchases were made using an account that was overdrawn.

“I had been receiving regular statements from the bank showing the debts on the account but, because it said the account was closed in October 2011 after I had opened it in September 2011, I assumed it was a typo.”

He added: “I used the account and deliberately ran up the debt with the bank so that, when the payments to the train company didn’t authorise, the bank would honour them and add it to my own debt.

“This is what happened with other transactions I made through that account.

“My financial plan was poor and I was completely irresponsible by choosing to run up that debt, but I don’t accept that there is any evidence that that I intentionally tried to keep money from the train company.

“I haven’t been dishonest in any way, I was just stupid.”

However, magistrates told Mr Garvie: “We did not find your evidence to be that credible. It cannot be plausible that you did not know that the account was closed and you have given no evidence to show that you thought the bank would honour vthe train ticket transactions.

“We are in no doubt that you acted dishonestly.”

Mr Garvie said: “I deeply regret running up this debt, but as the bank have said they didn’t flag up any concerns and the debt was passed to an agency to arrange payment.

“I’m sorry that I have let down my party, my supporters and my friends on this issue, although I plan to appeal the verdict. The negative publicity this issue has caused is regrettable.”

He added: “How it could be a guilty verdict, I don’t know.”

In the same week he was convicted for fraud, Mr Garvie has been forced to deny national newspaper allegations regarding his behaviour on Twitter after he sent messages to a student at Wellingborough School in Northamptonshire following a recent political hustings event.

Mr Garvie said he had been contacted by police about his overall Twitter conduct, but described the allegations in national media as “fabricated and ridiculous”.

He said: “A parent from the school complained that I should not have been debating with students. Any complaint that is made has to go through safeguarding, which is completely the right thing to do. When a safeguarding issue is raised police have to investigate.

“These allegations are fabricated and ridiculous and part of a big smear campaign against me.”

Mr Garvie said he was taking legal advice regarding the newspaper reports.

In 2011, Mr Garvie organised a petition to keep railway ticket offices in West Berkshire open.

He stood for Speen ward at the 2011 West Berkshire local elections.