Demonstrators hired to call for new vote on EU

FREELANCE demonstrators were paid thousands by a company linked to Max Mosley to drum up support for a second EU referendum, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

The Fair Vote Project, founded by a consultant who worked for an anti-brexit group set up by Gina Miller, the prominent Remain campaigner, and part funded by George Soros, hired them to target commuters yesterday.

Armed with megaphones and placards, they handed out leaflets in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and London, claiming the first referendum may have involved “cheating” and an “overspend” by the Vote Leave campaign.

They urged people to join a demonstration in Parliament Square in London this evening, the anniversary of the signing of Article 50.

The Fair Vote Project received £25,000 from Byline Festival, a company in which Mr Mosley, the son of Sir Oswald Mosley, the British fascist leader, holds shares. Mr Mosley is facing the possibility of a perjury investigation as police assess a dossier detailing his links to a racist pamphlet, although Mr Mosley has said any suggestion that he lied under oath was “obviously nonsense”.

Peter Jukes, a director of Bylinefest, said Mr Mosley owned shares worth £40,000 and was one of 13 investors. But he stressed Mr Mosley had no involvement in the running of Byline and would not have known of the Fair Vote Project activity.

“He would have been unaware of the £25,000 invested and may even be a Brexiter,” Mr Jukes, 57, said.

Placards the campaigners carried stated: “No cheating please, we are British” and “What did Boris know about this?”.

Mr Jukes said: “We are a transparency and democracy organisation. I really believe some things are bigger than Brexit. We are not trying to influence the Brexit vote. We are trying to secure a fair vote.”

Mr Mosley was unavailable for comment.