PM candidate Boris Johnson to face court over Brexit comments

 

FILE PHOTO: Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who is running to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister, leaves his home in London, Britain, May 28, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Boris Johnson, the favourite to replace Theresa May as British prime minister, must appear in court over allegations he lied to the public about Brexit, a judge ruled on Wednesday.

 

The judge at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruled that Johnson, the former foreign secretary and ex-London mayor, must answer a private summons alleging he had committed three offences of misconduct in a public office.

 

These relate to claims that Johnson made in the run-up to and aftermath of the 2016 European Union referendum when he was one of the leading campaigners for Britain to leave the bloc. Britons voted by 52-48% to leave.

 

“During both time periods outlined above, the (proposed) defendant repeatedly lied and misled the British public as to the cost of EU membership, expressly stating, endorsing or inferring that the cost of EU membership was 350 million pounds ($442 million) per week,” the application against Johnson said.

 

The 350 million figure was a central and controversial part of the pro-Leave campaign’s “Take back control” message, famously emblazoned across a campaign bus. Opponents argued that it was deliberately misleading and it became symbolic of the divisions caused by the referendum.

 

In her written ruling, District Judge Margot Coleman said the allegations were not proven and she had made no finding of fact, but said Johnson should face trial.

 

“Having considered all the relevant factors I am satisfied that this is a proper case to issue the summons as requested for the three offences as drafted,” Coleman said.

 

“This means the proposed defendant will be required to attend this court for a preliminary hearing, and the case will then be sent to the Crown Court for trial.”

 

Johnson’s spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

 

In submissions to the court, Johnson’s lawyers said the application was a stunt, brought for purely political purposes.

 

“It is submitted that the facts alleged by the applicant do not come close to establishing a qualifying breach of duty,” his lawyer argued. “None of the acts complained of took place in the course of Mr Johnson’s direct parliamentary or mayoral duties, but in the course of political campaigning.”

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-29

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

Oh dear and if this goes to a conclusion then 100s if not 1000's of other politicians and their spin doctors will also face court action for telling lies. If found guilty then the government of the day, whomever that may be by then , IMHO should launch an enquiry into why the British education system is so poor it produced 17 million people who were unable to grasp fact from fiction.

Edited May 29, 20197 yr by geoffbezoz

5 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

Oh dear and if this goes to a conclusion then 100s if not 1000's of other politicians and their spin doctors will also face court action for telling lies. If found guilty then the government of the day, whomever that may be by then , IMHO should launch an enquiry into why the British education system is so poor it produced 17 million people who were unable to grasp fact from fiction.

Like only one side were at it?

1 minute ago, evadgib said:

Like only one side were at it?

Why don't you send your enquiry or allegation to London Magistrates Court ?

in other news the PM is to be charged in court for saying the UK will leave on the 29th of March with or without a deal 108 times

?

2 minutes ago, AGareth2 said:

in other news the PM is to be charged in court for saying the UK will leave on the 29th of March with or without a deal 108 times

?

please provide the link or else it is trolling on a very serious issue.

Boris should get one the big red bus , one way ticket to lie , bon voyage.

 Perfect timing , Thx..

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 20197 yr by elliss

1 hour ago, geoffbezoz said:

Why don't you send your enquiry or allegation to London Magistrates Court ?

So this is your doing?

I'm impressed(!)

 

Amazingly, this is headline news on the BBC, but not on other news agencies. And some people still continue to think we 

Live in an open and genuine Democracy 

 

The "true" figure was apparently around £250M a week:

 

https://fullfact.org/europe/350-million-week-boris-johnson-statistics-authority-misuse/

 

As the article points out, that saving could potentially be dwarfed by the negative economic issues caused by Brexit. Of course, we don't know that for sure ????

Edited May 29, 20197 yr by nkg
link

40 minutes ago, Thairealist said:

Amazingly, this is headline news on the BBC, but not on other news agencies. And some people still continue to think we 

Live in an open and genuine Democracy 

Strange, I have seen it on several news media.

 

A case like this doesn't have much merit imo. It was done on the campaign trail, where exaggerations are common. 

21 minutes ago, nkg said:

 

The "true" figure was apparently around £250M a week:

 

https://fullfact.org/europe/350-million-week-boris-johnson-statistics-authority-misuse/

 

As the article points out, that saving could potentially be dwarfed by the negative economic issues caused by Brexit. Of course, we don't know that for sure ????

That is debatable .

The figure was  350M , but we got a rebate , which means we paid 250 M

I'm quite sure that a Lawyer could argue that the 350M was correct

2 hours ago, geoffbezoz said:

please provide the link or else it is trolling on a very serious issue.

He was serious!

How about Osborne's half million job losses?

4 minutes ago, evadgib said:

He was serious!

How about Osborne's half million job losses?

 Has brexit been effectuated yet?

3 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The judge at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruled that Johnson, the former foreign secretary and ex-London mayor, must answer a private summons alleging he had committed three offences of misconduct in a public office.

I thought the standards committee was in charge of misconduct in public office offences.

Did the rules change when I wasn't looking or is this fake news?

 

Also they would need to prove it was a deliberate lie, as being stupid or just plain wrong isn't an offence at all.

(If I were Boris, I'd go with stupid) 

Edited May 29, 20197 yr by BritManToo

I think we have to question why this action is being brought 3 years after the alleged offence. In a time when the Remain favouring establishment are fearful of Boris becoming PM and actually delivering on the referendum result. While remainer May was in charge they knew they could bully her into submission eventually. Whereas someone like Boris would be harder to control. 

As I've said many times I'm not a Boris fan, but this is clearly a cynical attempt to discredit the leading PM candidate and at the same time thwart the implementation of the referendum result - again! 

And the  Pound  continues to take a pounding !

What  a complete ....up!

26 minutes ago, stevenl said:

 Has brexit been effectuated yet?

'Running away from' or 'Falling in love with'? ????

Edited May 29, 20197 yr by evadgib

45 minutes ago, sanemax said:

That is debatable .

The figure was  350M , but we got a rebate , which means we paid 250 M

I'm quite sure that a Lawyer could argue that the 350M was correct

So UK pays 250. 

7 minutes ago, evadgib said:

'Running away from' or 'Falling in love with'? ????

You make a stupid comment, claiming someone lied because this person claimed brexit would bring joblosses, and those losses haven't materialised yet. You're just forgetting to explain how he is wrong since brexit hasn't happened yet.

 

And now you're trying to ridicule another poster for pointing out your post was stupid.

 

You're the one who made the ridiculous post, not me.

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

That is debatable .

The figure was  350M , but we got a rebate , which means we paid 250 M

I'm quite sure that a Lawyer could argue that the 350M was correct

 

Yes, it's definitely debatable. £350M doesn't include the rebate, as you say. It was foolish of them to inflate the figure - £250M is still a large sum of money.

 

He should hire Diane Abbott to help him with his maths ????

 

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 20197 yr by nkg
link

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I thought the standards committee was in charge of misconduct in public office offences.

Did the rules change when I wasn't looking or is this fake news?

 

Also they would need to prove it was a deliberate lie, as being stupid or just plain wrong isn't an offence at all.

(If I were Boris, I'd go with stupid) 

 

 

 When will they look into the statements by Edward Heath and cronies, who in the run up to the 1975 referendum, categorically stated that their was no chance of the EEC being transformed into a political Union. And right up to the present day when the majority of M.P’s voted to respect the 2016 referendum.

  And why is this announcement made, just after Johnson declares his intention to stand for the leadership of the Conservative party, while another investigation into antiSemitism in the Labour Party is delayed until After the E.U elections. 

1 hour ago, CG1 Blue said:

I think we have to question why this action is being brought 3 years after the alleged offence. In a time when the Remain favouring establishment are fearful of Boris becoming PM and actually delivering on the referendum result. While remainer May was in charge they knew they could bully her into submission eventually. Whereas someone like Boris would be harder to control. 

As I've said many times I'm not a Boris fan, but this is clearly a cynical attempt to discredit the leading PM candidate and at the same time thwart the implementation of the referendum result - again! 

Exactly! Typical pro-remain timing. So obvious as to be pathetic. Again.

2 hours ago, CG1 Blue said:

I think we have to question why this action is being brought 3 years after the alleged offence. 

Better late than never. And it certainly doesn’t matter — unless you wanna say that a criminal offense becomes acceptable after 3 years. 

I think we have to question why this action is being brought 3 years after the alleged offence. In a time when the Remain favouring establishment are fearful of Boris becoming PM and actually delivering on the referendum result. While remainer May was in charge they knew they could bully her into submission eventually. Whereas someone like Boris would be harder to control. 
As I've said many times I'm not a Boris fan, but this is clearly a cynical attempt to discredit the leading PM candidate and at the same time thwart the implementation of the referendum result - again! 

The establishment Remainers are getting very worried. Boris must be planning to stick it to the EU and actually take us out No Deal.

5 hours ago, AGareth2 said:

in other news the PM is to be charged in court for saying the UK will leave on the 29th of March with or without a deal 108 times

?

In her defence at the time she probably believed we would.

 
The "true" figure was apparently around £250M a week:
 

According to some (Remainer) sources, the UK would lose the rebate anyway if we did not Brexit. That would make the number on the bus true.

Quote

 

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

3 hours ago, evadgib said:

He was serious!

How about Osborne's half million job losses?

 Has brexit been effectuated yet?

No, but there have been Thousands already.

Quote

The Brexit Job Loss Index is an attempt to keep track of the number of jobs lost in the UK due to Brexit.

Here are the key stats (last updated 29/05/2019):

• Total Jobs Lost: 233,931
• Total Annual Wages Lost*: £6,708,439,287
• Reduction in Annual Income Tax & National Insurance Receipts**: £2,009,202,947.97
• https://smallbusinessprices.co.uk/brexit-index/

 

Edited May 29, 20197 yr by Basil B

11 minutes ago, Loiner said:

According to some (Remainer) sources, the UK would lose the rebate anyway if we did not Brexit. That would make the number on the bus true.

Come name names...

17 minutes ago, Loiner said:

According to some (Remainer) sources, the UK would lose the rebate anyway if we did not Brexit. That would make the number on the bus true.

 

Good point, it has been mentioned that the UK would lose the rebate regardless:

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-rebate/britain-would-lose-eu-rebate-even-if-it-decided-to-ditch-brexit-eu-official-idUKKCN1MM1PV

 

If 1) The UK remained and 2) The rebate was cancelled, then yes, the £350M would have ended up coming true in the future.

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 20197 yr by nkg
clarity