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Brexit: Leave.EU fined £70,000 for breaking electoral law during referendum Brexit: Leave.EU fined £70,000 for breaking electoral law during referendum
(35 minutes later)
Campaign group Leave.EU has been fined £70,000 after an investigation into funding during the 2016 referendum. Campaign group Leave.EU has been fined £70,000 for breaches of election law during the 2016 referendum and a senior figure has been referred to the police.
The Electoral Commission concluded that the campaign group incorrectly reported what it spent during the referendum. The Electoral Commission said the group - which was separate from the official pro-Brexit group Vote Leave - failed to report at least £77,380 it spent.
It found Leave.EU failed to report at least £77,380 of spending and exceeded the limit for non-party registered campaigners by at least 10%. It said it was "disappointing" a "key player" in the referendum had been unable to follow the rules.
Leave.EU founder Arron Banks said previously that he would "vigorously" contest the allegations. Leave.EU co-founder Arron Banks called it a "politically motivated attack".
Responding to the Electoral Commission's findings, he said: "What a shambles, we will see them in court."
Bob Posner, the Commission's director of political finance and regulation, said it was "disappointing" that Leave.EU, which it called "a key player" in the EU referendum, "was unable to abide by these rules".
"The level of fine we have imposed has been constrained by the cap on the Commission's fines," he added.
The Electoral Commission also found the campaign also exceeded a limit for non-party registered campaigners by at least 10%.
It said it had referred "the responsible person" for Leave.EU to the police, saying it had reasonable grounds to suspect she had committed criminal offences.
The investigation also looked into whether Leave.EU had received any services from Cambridge Analytica which should have been declared on its spending return but found no evidence that the group received donations or paid-for services from the political consultancy.
Leave.EU's relationship with the controversial firm "did not develop beyond initial scoping work", according to the Commission.