Will European lawmen ride to Arron’s rescue?

Embattled brexiteer arron banks is being investigated by the National Crime agency over his £8 million donation to the leave.eU campaign.

the insurance tycoon is also fighting the Government over a £160,000 tax bill on the £1 million he gave to Ukip in 2014.

Intriguingly, banks may secure victory from a most unlikely source: the european Court of Human Rights.

banks was going to pay £100,000 to Ukip when he defected from the tories, but raised it to £1 million after the then Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said he had never heard of him.

the treasury viewed the £1 million as a gift, not a political donation, because under government legislation an organisation has to have at least two mPs to qualify as a political party.

In 2014, when Nigel Farage was its leader, Ukip had no Westminster mPs but 24 mePs, having won 27.5 per cent of the vote at the european elections.

banks lost his case over the tax bill at a tax tribunal — even though the judge did say he’d suffered a violation of his human rights — but now he has gone to the european Court of Human Rights. a ruling is expected within days.

What a howling irony it will be if banks wins.

So is it a case of double standards? a friend of banks says: ‘It’s about time he got something good out of europe.’