Boris Johnson could go on trial for 'lying and misleading' in Brexit campaign, judge orders

Boris Johnson faces trial for allegedly “lying and misleading the British public” about the consequences of Brexit.

A judge summonsed the Conservative MP to appear in court after a member of the public launched a private prosecution over claims EU membership was costing the UK £350m a week.

District Judge Margot Coleman threw out arguments by Mr Johnson’s lawyers that the case was a “vexatious” attempt to undermine the result of the 2016 referendum.

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A written judgment handed down on Wednesday said: “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 [of misconduct in a public office].

“The charges are indictable only. 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.”

Shape Created with Sketch. The favourites in the Tory leadership race Show all 5 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. The favourites in the Tory leadership race 1/5 Theresa May The longest-serving Home Secretary in 100 years took a back seat in the referendum campaign. While backing Remain, she did not hit the campaign trail and delivered only a handful of speeches and interviews, and was critical of many aspects of the EU, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights. Hedging her bets allows her to now emerge as a ‘unity’ candidate, and she is said to have been building up her back-room staff in preparation for a leadership bid. She has the significant advantage of having served in one of the great offices of state, in a steady and competent manner that has won her many admirers within party and the civil service. At a time of great instability, it may be that she is viewed as steady hand on the tiller. Mrs May does however, lack the ‘star quality’ of a Boris Johnson and party members may doubt her ability to connect with ordinary voters PA 2/5 Michael Gove The Justice Secretary may be able to set himself up as ‘the thinking Tory’s Brexit candidate’. Made an enormous political and personal decision to back Leave, taking on his old friend David Cameron. He performed well during the TV debates, and will be an admired figure among Eurosceptic Conservatives. Along with Johnson, he will be hindered by the fact that he led a very divisive campaign, characterised by ‘blue-on-blue’ action. MPs may also judge that he lacks Boris Johnson’s wider appeal with the electorate. Possibly more likely that he will settle for being his new bosom buddy Boris’s Chancellor Getty 3/5 Stephen Crabb Highly-rated Work and Pensions Secretary, raised on a council estate, so could reach out to non-traditional working class Tory voters Getty Images 4/5 Andrea Leadsom Minister of State for Energy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change is one of the most prominent figures in the Leave campaign, seen to have performed well in TV debates Rex Features 5/5 Liam Fox British Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Defence, as sources said he will stand for the leadership of the Conservative Party AFP/Getty 1/5 Theresa May The longest-serving Home Secretary in 100 years took a back seat in the referendum campaign. While backing Remain, she did not hit the campaign trail and delivered only a handful of speeches and interviews, and was critical of many aspects of the EU, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights. Hedging her bets allows her to now emerge as a ‘unity’ candidate, and she is said to have been building up her back-room staff in preparation for a leadership bid. She has the significant advantage of having served in one of the great offices of state, in a steady and competent manner that has won her many admirers within party and the civil service. At a time of great instability, it may be that she is viewed as steady hand on the tiller. Mrs May does however, lack the ‘star quality’ of a Boris Johnson and party members may doubt her ability to connect with ordinary voters PA 2/5 Michael Gove The Justice Secretary may be able to set himself up as ‘the thinking Tory’s Brexit candidate’. Made an enormous political and personal decision to back Leave, taking on his old friend David Cameron. He performed well during the TV debates, and will be an admired figure among Eurosceptic Conservatives. Along with Johnson, he will be hindered by the fact that he led a very divisive campaign, characterised by ‘blue-on-blue’ action. MPs may also judge that he lacks Boris Johnson’s wider appeal with the electorate. Possibly more likely that he will settle for being his new bosom buddy Boris’s Chancellor Getty 3/5 Stephen Crabb Highly-rated Work and Pensions Secretary, raised on a council estate, so could reach out to non-traditional working class Tory voters Getty Images 4/5 Andrea Leadsom Minister of State for Energy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change is one of the most prominent figures in the Leave campaign, seen to have performed well in TV debates Rex Features 5/5 Liam Fox British Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Defence, as sources said he will stand for the leadership of the Conservative Party AFP/Getty

Mr Johnson denies misconduct in a public office, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Marcus Ball, 29, raised more than £200,000 through crowdfunding campaigns in order to lodge a private prosecution against Mr Johnson.

A Westminster Magistrates’ Court hearing earlier this month heard that the former foreign secretary “used the platforms and opportunities offered to him by virtue of his public office” to endorse claims that EU membership was costing the UK £350m a week.

Lewis Power QC, a lawyer representing Mr Ball, told the court Mr Johnson had deliberately misled the public during the EU referendum campaign and then repeated the statement during the 2017 general election.

At the time of the alleged offences, Mr Johnson held public office as the mayor of London and MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Mr Power said: “Democracy demands responsible and honest leadership from those in public office.

“The conduct of the proposed defendant Boris Johnson was both irresponsible and dishonest. It was, we say, criminal.”

Mr Power said the prosecution’s application was not brought to undermine the result of the Brexit referendum and was not about what could have been done with the saved money.

He told the court: “The UK has never sent, given or provided £350m a week to Europe – that statement is simply not ambiguous.

“The prosecution is not about Brexit. The only relevance to Brexit is that it was during the Brexit referendum Mr Johnson chose to mislead the public.”

The ruling detailed evidence that Mr Johnson’s chief of staff at City Hall informed workers it was “official mayoral policy” to support the case for leaving the EU in 2016.

“The applicant’s case is there is ample evidence that the proposed defendant knew that the statements were false,” it continued.

“One example is given that in a televised interview in May 2016 the proposed defendant [Mr Johnson] stated, ‘we send the EU £10bn per year’ and that therefore he knew that the £350m per week figure (£20bn per year) was incorrect.”

Mr Johnson did not attend the hearing earlier this month but his lawyer, Adrian Darbishire QC, said his client denied acting dishonestly.

“It is absolutely denied by Mr Johnson that he acted in an improper or dishonest manner at any time,” he added.

A summary of Mr Darbishire’s arguments claimed Vote Leave’s £350m-a-week claim – which was displayed on the side of a bus – was based on information that was “freely available to all”.

“No allegation is made, nor could any be made, that Mr Johnson adopted or commended that figure for any purpose other than in the course of a contested political campaign,” he added.

“As with very many claims made in political campaigns, it was challenged, contradicted and criticised.”

Mr Darbishire claimed the private prosecution was “brought for political purposes ... it is a [political] stunt” seeking to “undermine the referendum result”.

Judge Coleman ruled that the application was not vexatious, finding that although there may have been a “political purpose to these proceedings” when they were first considered in 2016, “that argument, in my view, is no longer pertinent”.

She found that there was “prima facie” evidence of potential misconduct in a public office but added: “The allegations which have been made are unproven accusations and I do not make any findings of fact.”

The ruling stated that although there is no obligation on the court to give written reasons why an application for a summons is granted, “this is an unusual and exceptional application with a considerable public interest and it is right that full reasons are provided”.

Mr Johnson is currently the bookies’ favourite to become leader of the Conservative Party and succeed Theresa May as prime minister.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it currently has no involvement in the case.

A spokesperson added: “It is an established principle that anybody has the right to bring a private prosecution.

“The CPS has published legal guidance on the circumstances in which we may take over any private prosecution and either continue or discontinue as required. Our decisions are based on whether our legal test is met.”