Brexiteer Tory MP says pro-EU colleague should be replaced by electoral rules-breach activist
3 min read
A pro-Brexit Conservative MP has risked major party row as he called for an activist who was fined for breaching campaign rules to replace a fellow sitting Tory.
Conor Burns said BeLeave founder Darren Grimes should “have a look down in Totnes” - the seat of pro-EU MP Sarah Wollaston - because “you would be brilliant”.
Mr Grimes was ordered to pay £20,000 by the Electoral Commission after the watchdog said he and Vote Leave breached spending rules during the 2016 EU referendum.
Investigators said BeLeave spent some £600,000 in donations received from the official Brexit campaign under a “common plan” - but groups are not allowed to agree on how to spend donations between them.
Dr Wollaston was among a cross-party group of MPs who signed a letter to the Metropolitan Police and National Crime Agency calling on them to investigate the case.
Mr Burns - who previously worked as a parliamentary bag carrier for Boris Johnson - said Mr Grimes had been “victimised and persecuted by the provisional wing of Remain, aided and abetted by their bureaucratic masters the Electoral Commission”.
He told a Mr Grimes during a Brexit Central event at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham: “That you stood here before us today eloquently and defiant is a tribute to your character.
“These people couldn’t hold a candle to you.”
And he added: “You have been misunderstood. Have a look down in Totnes – you would be brilliant.”
The call is reminiscent of the pro-Jeremy Corbyn Momentum campaign, which lobbies to deselect Labour MPs critical of the party leader.
Mr Grimes took to Twitter later to note that he was "not the MP for Totnes".
Health Select Committee chair Dr Wollaston was not available for comment by the time of publication.
But Eloise Todd, boss of the pro-EU Best for Britain campaign, told PoliticsHome: "Sarah Wollaston is a great MP and is the kind of strong voice we need at this moment in history.
"Dr Wollaston has spoken eloquently about the need for informed consent for the Brexit deal: two years ago, none of us knew what Brexit would mean, whichever way we voted.
"In 2018 the Government should hear the will of the people again: and whether it confirms or rejects Brexit now that the terms are clear, that decision should be expected."
'LIMITED CAPACITY TO PROSECUTE'
In August, Dr Wollaston signed a letter calling on the authorities to investigate a string of alleged rule breaches by a number of Leave campaigns, including BeLeave.
The letter said: “The Electoral Commission, the Information Commissioner, the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee and others have been doing and continue to do important work in this area.
“However, their powers of investigation and the sanctions at their disposal are limited and they have no power to prosecute. This places a particular responsibility on those who do.”
That same month she joined the campaign pushing for a fresh referendum on the final Brexit deal.
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