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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-
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