MP attacks Ministers over Vote Leave claim

LABOUR HAS said the Government “is in it up to its neck” over allegations that election rules were breached in the EU referendum as it called for an independent investigation.

Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Jon Trickett called Michael Gove and Boris Johnson the “Bonnie and Clyde of Brexit” given their role at the helm of the Vote Leave campaign.

The Hemsworth MP also attacked Theresa May for publicly defending her political secretary, who outed a whistleblower of alleged breaches as gay.

His call for a “proper and urgent investigation” came as proBrexit Labour MP Frank Field insisted “nobody is above” the law as MPs held a two-hour emergency debate after allegations were levelled against the Vote Leave EU referendum campaign.

The emergency debate was granted after Lib Dem former Minister Tom Brake raised concerns over allegations of Vote Leave and another group, BeLeave, “acting in concert”. Vote Leave and its former officials have all denied the allegations and reject all accusations of wrongdoing.

A legal opinion obtained by lawyers, acting on behalf of whistleblowers Christopher Wylie and Shahmir Sanni, has called for an “urgent investigation” to establish whether a prosecution could be brought over allegations the Vote Leave campaign broke spending limits during the 2016 EU referendum campaign.

Vote Leave has said the £625,000 donated to BeLeave, whose co-founder was Darren Grimes, was within the rules.