North electoral officer on theft charges

A former deputy electoral officer in Northern Ireland is to face 30 charges, it was announced tonight.

Alastair Patterson, 58, who resigned as chief executive of the Ulster Unionist Party after his arrest, will face 17 charges of theft and 13 counts of false accounting when he appears before magistrates in Omagh on November 11.

Mr Patterson, who lives near Dungannon, was the returning officer who declared IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands’ victory in the Fermanagh-South Tyrone election in 1981.

Mr Patterson was one of two men questioned by police in July about allegations of corruption.

Both were former employees of the Electoral Office and were interviewed about allegations of forgery, false accounting and corruption between 1996 and 2001.

A spokesman for the Ulster Unionist Party said tonight: “We note with regret that charges have been brought against our former chief executive.

“Clearly the matter is now sub judice and we are not in a position to offer any further comment.”