Boris blasts claim that Leave lobby broke spend rules
BORIS Johnson yesterday said claims that the Leave campaign broke spending rules during the EU referendum are “utterly ludicrous”.
The Foreign Secretary rubbished allegations raised by a former Brexit campaigner that expenditure limits set by the Electoral Commission were flouted in the run-up to the 2016 vote.
Shahmir Sanni, who volunteered to work with the Eurosceptic youth group BeLeave, also claimed senior figures in the Vote Leave campaign attempted to destroy evidence of the rule breaking.
Senior Brexit supporters believe the allegations are part of a co-ordinated drive to tarnish the result of the referendum.
Mr Johnson tweeted that the claims were “utterly ludicrous”. He said: “Vote Leave won fair and square – and legally. We are leaving the EU in a year and going global.”
Michael Gove who fronted Vote Leave alongside Mr Johnson also insisted the referendum result must not be overturned.
He said: “I respect the motives and understand the feelings of those who voted to remain in the EU.
“But 17.4 million opted to leave in a free and fair vote and the result must be respected. It’s our job now to work to overcome division.”
Mr Sanni’s allegations centre on a £625,000 donation from Vote Leave to BeLeave.
He said the cash violated spending limits because it was not a genuine donation.
He said: “I know that Vote Leave cheated.
“I know that people have been lied to and that the referendum wasn’t legitimate.”
Mr Sanni claimed BeLeave was controlled by Vote Leave rather than being an independent campaign organisation. He said: “In effect they used BeLeave to overspend, and not just by a small amount.
“Almost two-thirds of a million pounds makes all the difference – it wasn’t legal.”
The row deepened when a close aide to Theresa May was then accused of “outing” Mr Sanni as gay.
Stephen Parkinson, now the Prime Minister’s political secretary, was in a relationship with Mr Sanni at the time of the referendum.
Mr Parkinson said he was “saddened” by the “factually incorrect and misleading” statements by Mr Sanni and his lawyers.
He said: “I cannot see how our relationship, which was ongoing at the time of the referendum and which is a material fact in the allegations being made, could have remained private once Shahmir decided to publicise his false claims in this way.”
Mr Parkinson said he had no responsibility for digital campaigning or donations on the Vote Leave campaign.
And he said he was “confident that I stayed within the law and strict spending rules at all times”.