ENVIRONMENT Secretary Michael Gove was yesterday called upon to stand down from the Cabinet until police inquiries into legal breaches by the Vote Leave campaign are completed.
A probe by the electoral watchdog yesterday found the official Brexit campaign group – fronted by Gove and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson – broke the law and has now referred the issue to see if any criminal offences took place.
The calls for Gove to consider his position came shortly after the Electoral Commission announced it had fined Vote Leave £61,000, concluding it had exceeded a £7m spending limit by illegally funnelling £675,315 through a separate pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave.
Michael Russell, the Scottish Brexit Secretary, was among the first figures north of the Border to urge Gove to stand aside.
He referred to a tweet by a journalist which said that while Johnson may have “strategically jumped ship”, Gove was still a minister. It added that the “Government is up to its neck in this and must be held to account”.
The Brexit Secretary responded: “Important point. At the very least Gove should stand down until all the legal process is concluded.
“May should insist on that.”
Tommy Sheppard, the SNP MP, then took the matter up when the Electoral Commission’s findings came to the Commons chamber: “We need to know if the Government will draw a line between itself and this illegality,” he said.
“I would like an assurance from the minister now that anyone who was involved in working for Vote Leave or on its board should cease to hold office in government or cease to be on the Government payroll.”
Cabinet Office Minister Chloe Smith said she would not give such a commitment, saying “there were a number of questions raised in the report which are still subject to ongoing investigation”.
Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, hit out at the level of the fines, saying they should be “unlimited”.
Vote Leave was the officially designated lead campaign for the Brexit side in the 2016 EU referendum. Fronted by Johnson, it was a cross-party campaign which also drew backing from Labour MPs such as Kate Hoey and then Ukip MP Douglas Carswell.
It saw off competition from the Nigel Farage-backed rival Leave.eu to secure “lead campaign” status, giving it access to £600,000 in public funds, a free mailshot, TV broadcasts and the right to spend up to £7m on the referendum battle.
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