UK IN EU CHALLENGE CLAIMANTS REQUEST ORAL HEARING FOLLOWING HIGH COURT DECISION

The UK in EU Challenge has been informed that on first review of the papers, the High Court has refused permission for it to proceed, primarily on the basis that the claim is out of time.

The claimants contest that this is incorrect and its legal team are now requesting an oral hearing to highlight the claim’s merits at High Court and discuss inaccuracies within the Government’s response.

The UK in EU Challenge has been brought by a group of British citizens living in EU countries who, through a combination of private money and an ongoing crowdfunding drive to cover legal costs, are asking the High Court to find on two issues that could fundamentally alter the Brexit process:

1) That the Referendum result is invalid as a result of illegal practice by the Leave campaign (as proven beyond reasonable doubt by the Electoral Commission)
2) That the Referendum result cannot be relied upon to be the ‘will of the people’ because voters may have been influenced by the Leave campaign’s fraudulent behaviour

The claimants state that they could not have brought the challenge any sooner, because the Electoral Commission findings were only published on 11 May 2018 with respect to Leave.EU; and 17 June 2018 with respect to Vote Leave/Darren Grimes/Veterans for Britain.

The legal team behind the UK in EU Challenge issued proceedings on 13 August 2018.

“This may be a hurdle for our legal claim, but it wasn’t unexpected and we certainly aren’t stopping here. As far as we are concerned, this ‘out of time’ finding is incorrect,” said Sue Wilson, lead claimant and chair of Bremain in Spain.

“We also now know that the Electoral Commission wrongly applied the law to the referendum. Taking all the facts into consideration it is impossible to argue that the referendum result was an accurate reflection of the will of the people. If we cannot count on the UK’s democratic process, what hope for the future - and this is what we’ll be arguing strongly in court.”

Rupert Croft at Crofts Solicitors said: “The High Court has so far only considered the merits of our clients’ claim ‘on paper’. We now have the opportunity to argue and debate the merits of the claim in an oral hearing, where we will be arguing that the claim is not out of time and should be allowed to proceed.”

Wilson added: “We would like to thank everyone who has donated to the crowdfunding campaign, which is ever more important as we enter this next phase.

“There’s already been a massive response from the public, indicating that very many people think it important not only to remain in the EU, but also to protect the foundations of UK democracy and the rule of law.”

For more information, please visit: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/ukineuchallenge/

ENDS

For more information or interviews with the claimants / their legal team, please contact Sarah Hall on sarah@sarahhallconsulting.co.uk / 07702 162704.