Vote Leave vows to fight verdict that it breached election rules

THE Electoral Commission has been accused of mounting an “unfair and political” investigation into the official Vote Leave group after it emerged the watchdog would find that it broke election rules.

The watchdog is preparing to find that Vote Leave breached election rules on four counts and is expected to fine it up to £80,000. It could also refer the campaign to the police.

The allegations are disputed by Vote Leave, which has prepared a dossier rebutting them and is poised to appeal against the decision.

The findings will be contentious, as Vote Leave was fronted by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, and are likely to be seized on by Remainers calling for a second referendum.

The watchdog has been criticised by Eurosceptic Tory MPS in the past for failing to mount an investigation into the Remain campaign over its own spending.

It comes after a Sunday Telegraph investigation found that four of the commission’s 10 commissioners, including the chairman, have made public statements criticising the probrexit campaign or backing calls for the result to be overturned.

A Vote Leave source said: “The Electoral Commission is following a highly political agenda. It is an outrage that they will not even give us basic rights of natural justice like being able to present our case. We will fight them in the courts and we will win, just as we took on the establishment and beat them two years ago.”

It has been claimed that the Electoral Commission did not interview senior Vote Leave staff as part of its investigation. It is not clear whether the commission is planning to refer the matter to the police or the Crown Prosecution Service.

Whistleblowers say that Vote Leave and another smaller campaign group broke the rules by colluding with a smaller group, Beleave.

During the referendum campaign Vote Leave gave £625,000 to Beleave. While it was entitled to give the donation, it was barred from directing its activities under electoral laws.

The Electoral Commission is understood to have found that Vote Leave provided “inappropriate” assistance to Beleave during the EU referendum and that there was a “common plan” between the two organisations.

It says an email shows that Dominic Cummings, then head of Vote Leave, directed Beleave on how to spend its donations. Vote Leave says it had been informed by Beleave about how to spend the money at an earlier date.

The Electoral Commission’s investigation is understood to have concluded that Vote Leave should have included Beleave’s spending in its own submission, meaning that it breached statutory spending limits.

The watchdog also found that Vote Leave’s submission did not include eight receipts, which it says were missing. It says Vote Leave failed to comply with a statutory notice to supply documents.

A spokesman for the Electoral Commission said: “The unusual step taken by Vote Leave in sharing its views on to the Electoral Commission’s initial findings does not affect the process set out in law.”