Who is Craig Mackinlay? Everything you need to know about the Tory candidate charged over election expenses

Previously been known as the man who beat former UKIP leader Nigel Farage in the 2015 general election, Craig Mackinlay may now be better known over allegations relating to his election expenses.

The Conservative candidate has been charged alongside Marion Little, 62, and Nathan Gray, 28, with offences under the Representation of the People Act 1983 and is due to appear in court on July 4.

But who is Craig Mackinlay?

Born in Chatham, Kent, Mr Mackinlay’s father Colin ran a small chain of independent greengrocers in Kent before starting a fresh produce import company supplying most major supermarkets.

According to his own website, the 50-year-old was educated at Rainham Mark Grammar School before reading Zoology and Comparative Physiology at Birmingham University.

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After graduating, he joined a firm of Chartered Accountants, qualifying as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.

He later went on to qualify as a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, something his website boasts made him one of just 1,500 qualified ‘joint-hatters’ and the only MP with such qualification.

He entered politics in the early 90s when he was involved in founding the Anti-Federalist Party – which went on to become the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).

After a brief stint leading the party, Mr Mackinlay defected to the Conservatives in 2005, apparently concerned about the direction the party was taking.

He was elected as a Councillor for River Ward in Chatham on Medway Council, a unitary authority, and then re-elected in 2011.

Mackinlay was elected as MP for South Thanet in 2015 beating Mr Farage – the then UKIP leader – into second place and is the Conservative candidate for the Kent constituency in this year’s election.

According to his website, he has campaigned on a range of issues, including aviation, energy, pharmacies and animal welfare and at the European Referendum was a Founding Member of Conservatives for Britain, becoming a leading Vote Leave campaigner.

Away from politics, he is a keen sailor and a member of The Royal Temple Yacht Club and the House of Commons Yacht Club.

He and wife Kati, a community pharmacist,have a two-year-old chocolate Labrador “Libby” who is a contestant in the annual Parliamentary Dog of the Year competition.