Election watchdogs have revealed how the now-notorious ‘Bradford Fraud’ of 2005 led to better checks and balances being introduced to prevent abuse of the postal voting system.

The Electoral Commission said major changes had been introduced to make postal voting “more secure” since a plot to use fraudulent postal votes in the Bradford West constituency was first unearthed in the run-up to the 2005 General Election.

After a complex investigation, five Conservative Party supporters, including two former councillors, were jailed this week for their parts in a failed plan to fix the result of the ballot.

Today, a spokesman for the Electoral Commission said: “Since 2005, nothing has come down that has been on the scale of the Bradford Fraud.

“It was the last thing that highlighted the need for change.”

The “harvesting” of votes took several different forms, including the registration of people as voters who did not even exist, the submission of postal vote applications for people who no longer lived at the stated address, and the use of empty premises as false addresses.

Former councillors Reis Khan, 40, of Whetley Hill, and Jamshed Khan, 65, of Russell Street, received 21-month prison sentences, as did Mohammed Sultan, 52, of Toller Lane, and Mohammed Rafiq, 70, of Cecil Avenue, Great Horton.

Alyas Khan, 51, of Hilton Road, a treasurer for the Conservative association, was jailed for 11 months.

The Electoral Commission spokesman said: “It’s now more secure. There are a number of changes since 2005 not least the Electoral Administration Act 2006.”

That legislation included a clause requiring electors to provide two personal identifiers, such as their signature and date of birth, when applying for a postal ballot. In another change, electoral administrators are now entitled to attend addresses before they are included on the electoral register.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, leader of the Council’s Conservative group and its chief whip during the 2005 General Election, said: “Jamshed Khan has not been a member of the Conservative party for some considerable time. I am disturbed at the problems experienced in Bradford and in other areas with reference to the credibility of democracy.

“There have been increasing problems with the postal vote system and something has to be done to clean it up. I will be writing to the coalition Government asking them to look into how we can clean up electoral fraud as far as postal voting is concerned.”

Councillor Glen Miller, deputy leader of Bradford Council’s Conservative group, said: “Let this be a lesson to all people that West Yorkshire Police will follow things through and proceed with court cases.”

Coun Miller said he did not believe the incident would undermine the credibility of other Conservative candidates and councillors.

“If there were issues with other councillors, there would be cases going on against them.

“The public can rest assured that if there is any evidence, the police will deal with it. Now we have to move on and do our best for the district.”