Investigation into Brexit spending
Politicians in the UK have called for an investigation into claims made by The Observer newspaper that campaigners involved in the 2016 European Union (EU) referendum might have broken the rules.
What was the referendum?
In 2016, the UK narrowly voted to leave the EU, in a referendum (a nationwide vote on an issue). The EU is an organisation made up of 28 European countries that work and trade together. The UK’s decision to leave is known as Brexit.
What is Vote Leave accused of doing wrong?
The newspaper claims that Vote Leave, one of the main campaigns trying to persuade people to vote to leave the EU, might have spent more money on their campaign than they were officially allowed. Both sides (remain and leave) were told that they couldn’t spend more than £7 million. This limit was imposed to make sure that the referendum was fair. On 25 March, The
Observer published an interview with a whistleblower, who claims that Vote Leave went over the spending limit by almost £700,000.
What is a whistleblower?
A whistleblower is someone who reports activity they consider illegal or wrong about an organisation where they have worked. In this case, the whistleblower was a man called Shahmir Sanni, who worked for Vote Leave. He was put to work in BeLeave, an organisation dedicated to getting young people to vote to leave the EU. He says that Vote Leave donated £625,000 to BeLeave. This donation would have been allowed if those two organisations were campaigning separately. However Sanni claims they worked together – and Vote Leave decided how the money should be spent. “In effect they used BeLeave to overspend, and not just by a small amount... Almost two thirds of a million pounds makes all the difference and it wasn’t legal,” he said.
What does this mean?
If what Sanni says is true, it is very serious. Many of the people who led the Vote Leave campaign now hold senior positions in the Government. They include Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, and Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary. If it is proved that they knew that Vote Leave cheated, it would mean big trouble for the UK Government.
How has Vote Leave responded?
Everyone involved has strongly denied Sanni’s accusations. Boris Johnson called them “utterly ludicrous” on Twitter. Michael Gove said that the result “must be respected”. Other politicians have said that there should be an inquiry to make sure.