Johnson turned away from polling station

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson has been turned away from a polling station in England after forgetting to bring photo identification.

It is understood he was told by staff that he would not be able to vote without proving his identity.

The requirement to provide photo ID was introduced by Mr Johnson during his time in office as part of the Elections Act 2022.

It is believed that Mr Johnson was later able to cast his ballot and that he voted for the Conservative Party.

Today’s local elections were the first time that many people in England and Wales had to present ID to vote under provisions first rolled out last year.

Acceptable forms of identification included a passport and a driving licence.

Meanwhile, a Conservative MP has said his dyspraxia caused him to misplace his photo ID, forcing him to arrange an emergency proxy vote.

Tom Hunt, who represents Ipswich, warned people “persecuting” him online to be “very careful with their words”, saying it is “well known that sadly we are slightly more prone to lose things”.

He said: “I don’t want to blame everything on my dyspraxia but it’s a factor in my life I have to deal with.

“It’s all well and good people saying we need to have more neurodiverse members of parliament, but having a massive pile-on on them, I don’t think it’s going to encourage more people.”

People whose ID has been lost, stolen or damaged can apply for an emergency proxy vote until 5pm on polling day, allowing someone else to vote on their behalf.

Mr Hunt said he had not previously been aware of this provision, but had applied for an emergency proxy vote, saying it is “the system working well”.

The British government said that it had no wider concerns about the operation of the voter ID requirement, adding that only 0.25% of would-be voters had been turned away from polling stations for lacking the correct documents.

The Electoral Commission said “most voters” were able to cast their ballots despite the provision.

“Our initial assessment of the elections is that they were well-run, and millions of voters were able to exercise their democratic rights,” a spokesman said.

“This is a testament to the efforts of electoral administrators, who work tirelessly to ensure the smooth delivery and integrity of polls.”