File photo
Britain's electoral regulator misinterpreted the spending law when it allowed the main Brexit campaign to donate to a smaller, aligned group during the 2016 referendum campaign, London's High Court ruled on Friday.
Britain's officially designated Brexit campaign group, Vote Leave, said the Electoral Commission had told the group it could donate to other Leave campaigners without having to count it against its own referendum expenses.
But the High Court found that the Electoral Commission "misinterpreted the definition of 'referendum expenses'" in a way which was "inconsistent with both the language and the purpose of the legislation" in giving the advice.
Jo Maugham, a lawyer and campaigner on the winning side of the case, said the decision was "coruscating" for the Commission, and that the main Remain campaign had not been given the same rights to make donations.
The Bank of England and Britain's largest banks are well prepared for a disorderly Brexit but uncertainty about the economic outlook is holding back pay growth, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday.British media had reported late on Thursday that Carney had warned senior ministers earlier in the day that a chaotic Brexit could lead to house price falls of up to 35 percent over three years as well as spiralling interest rates.Carney did not address this prospect directly in his speech at Ireland's central bank, though these projections are similar to scenarios the BoE told banks last year to ensure they had guarded against."The Bank of England is well-prepared for whatever path the economy takes, including a wide range of potential Brexit outcomes," Carney said, sticking close to previous language on preparations for Brexit."We have used our stress test to ensure that the largest UK banks can continue to meet the needs of UK households and businesses even through a disorderly Brexit, however unlikely that may be. Our job, after all, is not to hope for the best but to plan for the worst," he added.UK finance minister says time running out on Brexit; BoE governor to stay on
'Bank of England prepared for wide range of Brexit outcomes'
"What is now clear is that the Electoral Commission unlawfully tilted the playing field in the Referendum," he said in a statement.
Vote Leave was separately fined by the Electoral Commission in July for co-ordinating its activities with the smaller campaign group, BeLeave, to pay digital services from Aggregate IQ, thereby exceeding spending limits. The campaign group refuted the findings.
The Electoral Commission said Friday's ruling showed the court had backed up its July findings.
"The Court arrived at the same conclusion as the Commission did in its investigation - that Vote Leave should have accounted for the expenditure on the digital services firm, Aggregate IQ – although it found an additional reason for reaching that conclusion," the regulator said in a statement.
European Union leaders will discuss when they meet in Austria next week whether to hold a special summit on Brexit in November, a senior EU diplomat said on Thursday.He also said, when asked by reporters, that the EU was continuing contingency preparations in the event there is no deal before Britain leaves next March.Diplomats and EU officials say that governments have been discussing holding a special Brexit summit in Brussels around Nov. 13-15 on the assumption that a regular meeting on Oct. 18 will be too early to approve a potential deal with Britain on a withdrawal treaty.The diplomat, briefing reporters, said further discussion on a November meeting would take place among heads of state and government when they meet in Salzburg next Wednesday and Thursday.Roche boss says Brexit and curbs on drug use pose threat to UK scienceAsked whether the Salzburg summit would give EU negotiator Michel Barnier a new mandate to discuss terms for Britain's future trade relationship with the Union, the diplomat said Barnier did not need such a formal mandate. He might, however, seek further guidance from leaders during the meeting.He was asked about comments from British Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab that a failure to reach a deal on the withdrawal treaty would mean Britain not paying tens of billions of euros it has so far agreed to send to Brussels.He said that if there were no treaty, many of the agreed terms would lapse. However, he said, there was a legal argument that Britain would still owe money to the EU under the terms of its existing membership obligations. EU tells Britain it won't renegotiate Brexit divorce bill
EU leaders to discuss November Brexit summit next week
But Vote Leave Chief Executive Matthew Elliott said the court's ruling undermined the Electoral Commission's earlier finding, adding that the campaign group would not have made the donation if they had not been advised that they could.
"The Electoral Commission's defeat in the High Court today has thrown electoral law for future elections and referendums into total chaos," he said in a statement.
"Either the Electoral Commission is wrong or the High Court is wrong."
The European Union will not reconsider parts of the Brexit agreement with Britain that have already been agreed on, like the divorce bill London will have to pay, a spokesman for the bloc's executive said on Thursday.Prime Minister Theresa May suggested on Wednesday London could refuse to pay a financial settlement to the bloc if the sides fail to reach a comprehensive agreement on Britain's withdrawal from the EU."We will not be revisiting those areas of the withdrawal agreement that are now settled, including the financial settlement," the European Commission spokesman told a regular news conference.UK PM May says 'position change' on divorce payment if no Brexit dealBrexit rebels make proposals on Irish border issueRejecting Brexit plan is not a confidence vote on UK PM May: Conservative lawmaker
EU tells Britain it won't renegotiate Brexit divorce bill