Richmond and North Kingston Lib Dems have been caught out using fake names to infiltrate Zac Goldsmith’s campaign.

Dan Falchikov — the same Lib Dem activist who was famously overheard by Kevin Maguire, the Daily Mirror’s chief political polemicist, boasting that he had cooked up Susan Kramer’s Kingston Hospital scare-story on his ‘kitchen table’ — has now been found out volunteering to become one of Zac’s deliverers, and more worryingly, to do ‘data entry’ in the Conservative office.

Using the false name ‘Mr John O’Grady’ he signed up to deliver leaflets for Zac and to help the campaign in other ways. Zac’s office was taken in at first, and an intern wrote to Mr Falchikov to thank him. But he also copied in local Conservative Councillors who recognised the email address.

Dan Falchikov then wrote back to Zac’s office claiming that his offer of help had been “sent in error.” But for Mr Falchikov to sign up to help, he had to fill in an on-line survey and send it back to Zac Goldsmith’s office. He would also have had to invent a new name for himself… my mistake.

Commenting, Zac Goldsmith said;

“We know from their literature that the Lib Dems will do absolutely anything to get elected. If they are not smearing us locally, they are distorting our national policies to frighten residents. If they’re not taking false credit for other people’s hard work, they are busy trying to infiltrate our campaign. We want an honest, clean campaign, and it is deeply regrettable that Susan Kramer and her team have opted for grubby and underhand tricks. The election should be fought on the issues that matter.”