A prosecution against Boris Johnson for ‘lies’ told during his Brexit campaign will be heard in court next week.
The Vote Leave figurehead is accused of ‘abusing public trust’ over claims the UK sends £350,000,000 a week to Brussels. Lawyers are attempting a ‘world-first’ in prosecuting an MP over alleged lying to the public. The private prosecution has now received a court date and the former London Mayor will be sending his own legal representation.
Private prosecutor Marcus Ball has claimed Johnson committed three offences of misconduct in public office. The allegations centre round much-trumpeted claims by the Leave campaign, which were plastered over the big red Brexit bus. The statement that the UK sends £350 million each week to the European Union was found to be misleading by the UK Statistics Authority.
Mr Ball said: ‘I believe when politicians lie democracy dies. ‘If a company director lies to shareholders about financial matters they can be prosecuted. ‘If a self-employed person lies to HMRC about their spending or income, they can be prosecuted. ‘If a member of the public lies to the police about an ongoing investigation, they can be prosecuted. ‘This is because society and public trust cannot function based upon false information…”