EXPATS’ BID TO HALT BREXIT
British expats living in the EU claim Leave campaign election offences ‘nullify’ the referendum and PM’s notification to quit the EU
A MAJOR new legal challenge has been launched against Brexit by British expats living in the European Union.
The action in the High Court in the UK is being fronted by Valencia-based Sue Wilson, chair of the Bremain in Spain pressure group.
The claimants argue that the illegal conduct of Leave organisations during the 2016 referendum campaign should invalidate Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to notify the EU of the UK’s intention to withdraw.
“The Electoral Commission found ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ that Vote Leave broke the law by exceeding spending li- mits during the referendum campaign,” noted Mrs Wilson.
“This matter has now been referred to the police for a criminal investigation.
“Our case will argue that the electoral offences nullify both the result of the referendum and, given that she relied upon that ‘democratic decision’, the Prime Minister’s no- tification to leave the EU under Article 50.”
The claimants hope the case will be heard on an expedited basis and referred promptly to the Supreme Court.
According to The Guardian, the UK government is resisting the action on the grounds that it is out of time.
It also claims and that a similar challenge has already been dismissed. A group named ‘UK in EU Challenge’ has been formed to pursue the claim. They are represented by Croft Solicitors, Patrick Green QC and Jessica Simor QC, who all successfully acted in the Gina Miller Article 50 case. The legal team maintains that the claim is not out of time because the Electoral Commission only recently found that BeLeave spent £675,000, which should have been declared. Mrs Wilson added: “Leave won the referendum by the narrowest of margins, based on fraud. “In the last two years, it has become increasingly evident that the fantasy Brexit dream has turned into a nightmare. “Despite the damage the government knows that Brexit will bring to the country, thanks to its own detailed assessments, it is ploughing on regardless as if nothing has changed. “However, everything has changed. The Brexit the public was sold does not exist, we will never secure a deal as good as the existing one, and public opinion has shifted. “If the Brexiters firmly believe the public knew what it was voting for in 2016, and that the result would be the same again, let’s put this idea to the test. “Give us a referendum on the final deal and we’ll see if it really is the ‘will of the people’, going forwards.” Mrs Wilson added that ‘whatever the result of this legal challenge, we hope to demonstrate that you can’t win by cheating’. “If another referendum occurs, we mustn’t see a repeat of the illegal activity of 2016,” she noted. Other claimants in the case are Elinore Grayson from France, Carole-Anne Richards from Italy and John Shaw from France, who represents Fair Deal Forum and intervened successfully in the earlier Gina Miller case. More in Vox Pop on p51.