The first hearing of a private prosecution against Boris Johnson MP will take place next week at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
The prosecution of Johnson for the alleged offence of misconduct in public office is being brought by Marcus J Ball, who has crowdfunded nearly £200,000 for the case. He accuses Johnson of abusing public trust by intentionally misleading the public over how much the UK spends on EU membership. Johnson’s claim that the UK sends £350m per week to the EU was labelled ‘a clear misuse of official statistics’ by the UK Statistics Authority.
Ball said he hopes to ‘set a precedent in the UK common law making it illegal for an elected representative to lie to the public about financial matters’. He emphasised that Johnson remains innocent unless proven guilty.
The first hearing will take place in private, at 2pm on 14 May, with a second, public hearing either immediately afterwards or in the following few days.
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