Boris Johnson has hit back at the court summons issued to him as part of the private case against him alleging misconduct in public office, said prosecutor Marcus Ball.
Ball confirmed that Johnson’s legal team has applied for a judicial review into the decision to summon him to Westminster Magistrates’ Court, claiming that the summons is unlawful.
Johnson’s team has asked for the legal process to be suspended while a review takes place.
Ball claims that Johnson deliberately misled the public, both as an MP and London’s mayor, in the run-up to the 2016 referendum by backing the statement “We send the EU £350 million a week”, which is an estimate of the UK’s gross contribution and does not subtract the amounts received.
READ: Boris Johnson to receive court summons over £350 million Brexit campaign claimDistrict judge Margot Coleman ruled that this is a “proper case” for issuing a summons on indictable-only charges, clarifying that she had not made any findings on the case itself.
Ball confirmed that he will fight the judicial review request, remarking that this is a particularly expensive process and appealing for more contributions to the legal fund.
“Legal actions of this kind require considerable financial resources and we do not yet have enough funding to complete this action,” he said.
Ball came under fire earlier this week after the rightwing press publicised some of the campaign’s use of funds.
But Ball said he works at less than minimum wage per hour and all expenditure is related to legal fees, communications, and security considerations.
“In short, whatever is required to effectively and safely carry out the requirements of the case,” as he put it.
“I have been working on far longer than full time hours for the last three years in my efforts to get this case into court,” he added.
“I am not from a wealthy background and I do not have another form of income.
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