Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Eugene

(61,563 posts)
Sat Nov 2, 2019, 10:11 PM Nov 2019

Johnson 'knew about Vote Leave's illegal overspend', says MP

Source: The Observer

Johnson ‘knew about Vote Leave’s illegal overspend’, says MP

Prime minister accused of ‘sitting on information’ after EU referendum

Carole Cadwalladr and Mark Townsend
Sat 2 Nov 2019 20.31 GMT
Last modified on Sat 2 Nov 2019 23.05 GMT

Boris Johnson knew of Vote Leave’s overspend during the 2016 EU referendum, but appears to have failed to tell the authorities, according to explosive new claims from a senior MP. The payment was subsequently ruled to be illegal.

Ian Lucas revealed that he has seen correspondence obtained during the parliamentary inquiry into disinformation and democracy which showed that Johnson’s most senior aide, Dominic Cummings, told the Electoral Commission that the prime minister, and his cabinet colleague Michael Gove, knew of the overspend by the pro-Brexit organisation.

The Electoral Commission last year judged that Vote Leave had broken electoral law by overspending during the EU referendum, after the campaign funnelled £675,000 through another pro-Brexit group, BeLeave, to avoid spending limits.

The revelation comes as it was confirmed that prosecutors have received a file of evidence from the Metropolitan Police that could lead to criminal charges against the Vote Leave campaign, which was spearheaded by Johnson and Cummings.

-snip-


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/02/boris-johnson-vote-leave-overspend-eu-referendum-labour-mp-ian-lucas
Latest Discussions»Region Forums»United Kingdom»Johnson 'knew about Vote ...