Claims that Remain broke spending rules are rejected
LEAVE supporters have accused the Electoral Commission of inconsistency in its investigations after it rejected claims that Remain campaigners broke spending rules during the EU referendum.
The commission decided there was no evidence to back accusations made by the former cabinet minister Priti Patel that several Remain groups worked together in campaign videos without declaring “joint spending”.
Ms Patel had alleged that the Remain campaign group Britain Stronger In Europe (BSIE) had worked to a “common plan” with five other groups when it reached its donations limit.
She claimed the group spent more than £1million which came from the same small group of people who had bankrolled BSIE and used the same campaign material and advertising agencies.
The Electoral Commission said there was no evidence of joint working or grounds to suspect a breach of joint spending rules. The referendum rules allowed campaigners to work together as long as they declared spending and did not exceed their individual spending limits.
A spokesman for Vote Leave claimed the Electoral Commission had “not even bothered to ask basic questions” of the campaigners in question.
They said the commission’s actions were in “stark contrast” to its investigations into the Leave campaign, “where flimsier allegations were enough for the commission to open up multiple inquiries”.
Last month Vote Leave was fined £61,000 and referred to the police after the commission said it broke electoral law by funnelling £675,315 through the youth group Beleave after exceeding its £7million spending limit.
The Vote Leave spokesman added: “One day the commission will decide to look into the wrongdoings of the Remain campaign with the same vigour it has investigated unsubstantiated claims against Leave.”
The commission has opened up a separate investigation into another registered referendum campaign group, Wake Up and Vote, over claims from Ms Patel that they incurred undeclared joint spending with another group.