Boris Johnson lied during EU referendum campaign, court told

Boris Johnson lied and engaged in criminal conduct when he repeatedly claimed during the 2016 EU referendum that the UK sent £350m a week to Brussels, lawyers for a crowdfunded private prosecution of the MP have told a court. A legal team assembled by Marcus Ball, a 29-year-old businessman who has accused the former foreign secretary of misconduct in public office and raised more than £200,000 to finance the prosecution, laid out their case in front of a judge, who will rule next Wednesday on whether Johnson should appear in court. The case concerned the “now infamous claim” by Johnson about the £350m, Lewis Power QC told Westminster magistrates court, and was not about preventing or delaying Brexit.