Brexiteer campaign Vote Leave has dropped its appeal with the Electoral Commission, and has to pay legal fees on top of its original fine for multiple breaches of electoral law.
In addition to the original fine of £61,000 paid to the treasury in April, Vote Leave was made to pay £180,000 to cover the Electoral Commission’s costs after challenging the verdict. The appeal was dropped before a ruling could be made.
The Vote Leave campaign, which was supported by numerous high-profile MPs including Michael Gove, Daniel Hannan and current Tory leadership favourite Boris Johnson, had announced its intention to appeal the fine in March this year.
MORE: Calls for tougher sanctions for those breaching electoral law as Vote Leave appeals fines
Commenting, Best for Britain CEO Naomi Smith said the dropped appeal suggested Vote Leave “cheated and will only admit it behind closed doors”.
She added: “It’s terrifying that the face of their campaign, Boris Johnson, is set to be the next prime minister. What does that say about fair play?”
BeLeave, the organisation fronted by Darren Grimes, will begin similar proceedings next week to appeal its £20,000 fine.
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