Government ministers who blatantly misrepresented the status of the EU referendum result could potentially be criminally liable.
David Wolchover, barrister at Ridgeway Chambers, makes this assertion online at www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk. His argument is that the circumstances in which Art 50 applied have not arisen, it could not be activated, and the government has no mandate to take us out of the EU. He argues that the referendum was advisory not binding, and an Act of Parliament was required to start the Brexit process.
However, Wolchover says there has been no such Act of Parliament, since the European Referendum (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 is procedural and does not enshrine the result of the referendum as a constitutional decision.
Wolchover also argues that the prime minister and senior ministers may have committed the common law offence of misconduct in public office by wilfully misconstruing the referendum as decisive.
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