The cases against prominent pro-Brexit campaigners Darren Grimes and Alan Halsall have been dropped, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed.
BeLeave founder Darren Grimes was fined in 2018 after being accused of breaching spending rules during the European Union referendum campaign almost four years ago.
A spokesman for the Leave campaigners said:
“The Metropolitan Police has written to Vote Leave board member Alan Halsall and BeLeave founder Darren Grimes to confirm that it will not be acting on allegations made against them by the Electoral Commission and various Remain campaigners.
This marks the end of a two-year ordeal for both individuals.”
In a statement Darren said:
“The Metropolitan Police has found, after investigation and consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, that there is no case to be answered.
Once again the Electoral Commission has been found to be part of the mob, a quango out of control that isn’t policing elections so much as punishing Leavers who have the temerity to win them.
My ordeal at the hands of the kangaroo court that is the Electoral Commission is now over, but questions must now be asked of whether that body is fit for purpose.”
He also attacked the ‘journalist’ Carole Cadwalladr, claiming her “conspiracy theories have once again been found to be completely untrue, but have helped us expose the Electoral Commission”.
Mr Halsall, the responsible person for Vote Leave, said:
“I was very disappointed that my colleagues at Vote Leave and myself were never given the opportunity of making our case in person to the Electoral Commission before being fined and reported to the police,” he added.
It seems a rather unusual way of conducting an inquiry into such matters that only the so-called whistleblowers who made these allegations are interviewed by the regulator.”
The Electoral Commission denied it had not take evidence from the accused, stating that Vote Leave had “multiple opportunities to put across its side”.
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said:
“We referred this matter to the police so that offences that lie outside of the commission’s remit could be properly investigated.
We are pleased that the Met Police have taken the matter seriously.
The matters we asked the police to consider were separate and further offences to those we found Vote Leave had committed, for which we imposed fines, which they have paid.
When asking the police, as the proper authority to consider those matters, we did so in order that the evidence can be properly and fairly considered.”
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