Brexit spending row: Boris Johnson and Michael Gove blast 'ludicrous' claims Vote Leave breached spending caps as whistleblower set to present evidence

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson slammed claims made by a whistleblower that Vote Leave broke spending limits
PA Wire/PA Images
Ella Wills26 March 2018

Boris Johnson and Michael Gove today blasted "ludicrous" claims the official Brexit campaign they led broke spending rules, amid calls for the police to investigate.

The Foreign Secretary and Environment Secretary spoke out in defence of Vote Leave after allegations emerged the campaign used the group BeLeave to get around strict £7 million spending limits set by the Electoral Commission.

The whistleblower who made the allegations is due to set out further evidence to back up his claims at a press conference in London on Monday.

Vote Leave has strongly denied wrongdoing and said the £625,000 donated to BeLeave was within rules which allowed money to go to other, independent, campaigns.

Shahmir Sanni will present evidence at a press conference on Monday with his lawyer
PA

But Mr Sanni told Channel 4 News: "I know that Vote Leave cheated ... I know that people have been lied to and that the referendum wasn't legitimate."

Mr Sanni was in a relationship with senior Vote Leave figure Stephen Parkinson - now Theresa May's political secretary - at the time of the referendum and claimed through his lawyers he was "outed" by the Number 10 aide in the run-up to the Channel 4 disclosure.

The £625,000 was reportedly given straight to Canadian company AggregateIQ - which is alleged to have links to controversial data firm Cambridge Analytica.

Mr Sanni said: "In effect they used BeLeave to over-spend, and not just by a small amount ... Almost two-thirds of a million pounds makes all the difference and it wasn't legal."

Cabinet ministers Mr Johnson and Michael Gove were heavily involved in the campaign.

The anti-Brexit Best For Britain group has written to Mrs May demanding answers from the Prime Minister about what her two Cabinet colleagues knew.

Mr Johnson said Channel 4 and Observer stories based on Mr Sanni's testimony were "utterly ludicrous" and Vote Leave "won fair and square - and legally".

Mr Gove, who was campaign co-chair for Vote Leave, said the result of the referendum must be respected.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Environment Secretary Michael Gove spoke out against the allegations 
Getty Images

"I respect the motives and understand the feelings of those who voted to remain in the EU," he said.

"But 17.4 million opted to leave in a free and fair vote and the result must be respected. It's our job now to work to overcome division."

Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "The people that led these campaigns are now senior Cabinet members, and I think we need to make sure that they were not aware of what was going on, and that's why I think the resources are needed, and if needs be the police should be resourced to investigate as well."

Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake also suggested the police should be called in.

Mr Parkinson said he was "saddened" by the "factually incorrect and misleading" statements by Mr Sanni and his lawyers.

He said: "I cannot see how our relationship, which was ongoing at the time of the referendum and which is a material fact in the allegations being made, could have remained private once Shahmir decided to publicise his false claims in this way."

Mr Parkinson said he had no responsibility for digital campaigning or donations on the Vote Leave campaign and was "confident that I stayed within the law and strict spending rules at all times".

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom told Sky News' Sunday with Niall Paterson it was an "incredibly difficult area" but "Stephen Parkinson has said the reason for his statement was because the context of the background of these allegations is very important".

Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt defended Mr Parkinson as "someone of the highest integrity", adding "there are two sides to these stories".

Tory MP Heidi Allen told Peston on Sunday: "The whole thing feels pretty filthy and when you mix personal relationships and works it can get messy, as it has done here."

She said the row over Mr Parkinson and Mr Sanni's relationship "feels like a bit of a smokescreen" and "you need to separate the gossip and the discrediting from what actually happened".

An Electoral Commission spokeswoman said: "The commission has a number of investigations open in relation to campaigners at the EU Referendum; it does not comment on live investigations."

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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