On 14th August, the High Court rejected an appeal for leave to the UK’s highest court that would see private prosecutor Marcus Ball attempt to prosecute Boris Johnson over claims he lied during the 2016 EU referendum.
Mr Ball filed summons at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in March 2019 for the alleged offence of ‘misconduct in public office’.
Lady Justice Rafferty – one of the High Court judges who threw the case out in June – made a brief announcement on the decision to block the case from the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
“This application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court is rejected,” she said.
Huge frustration
In an exclusive interview with The London Economic, the private prosecutor expressed his “frustration” with the High Court and its decision to throw out his case.
When asked about how he would challenge this ruling, Mr Ball spoke of how the High Court’s decision “not to give a certificate of public importance to the case”, can prevent the Supreme Court from being able to “hear the case”. “The High Court actually has more power than any court in this instance.”
“Magistrates spent over three months carefully considering our case. They came to the conclusion that there must be a criminal trial- the High Court spent 3 days with it.”
According to the crowdfunded campaigner, who believes that judges did “not even read our case”, the latest verdict highlights the “lack of understanding from the High Court.”
He argues, “the reason they haven’t given a rationale for their decision is because they haven’t got one. This is not about the law, this is about the High Court trying to stop this case and shut it down.
“I think it’s wrong that the High Court has made the decision to give no reason behind their ruling on a fantastic case and opted instead to essentially say: ‘no, no, no’”. “And at the same time, they’ve refused to give the Supreme Court no opportunity to carefully consider our case.
Nothing is as it seems
Reflecting on his experience in Court, the private prosecutor believes “not everything is as it seems in the case”.
“There is something majorly wrong going on behind the scenes. There are people acting against us and we need to eventually reveal how they’re doing that”
“Why would the High Court not only shutdown the case, and then give no reason why?”, enquired Mr Ball.
Contradictory
“The ruling that the High Court produced to quash the case is nonsensical; it is not legally safe; it contradicts”, said Mr Ball.
“It contradicts itself. It contradicts existing court of appeal rulings and contradicts international common law precedent.”
Mr Ball also pointed out that the verdict “contradicts the international law commission and ‘Couch Case’”. “Both authorities are quoted by the High Court to support their own argument despite the fact that they – at the same time – undermine their argument- its a total mess”
Broken promises
When asked why he invoked the legal action against the prime minister, Mr Ball responded that “it wasn’t the first time he’d seen a politician lie to the public”.
“When I was old enough to vote in this country, I voted for the Lib Dems because I believed that Nick Clegg was going to lead a campaign to end lying in politics. But the first thing he did when he got into power was to break one of his promises.
“Now, to compound all of that. This happens.”
Complete dedication
Asked to rate his chances of success in light of Wednesday’s verdict, Mr Ball said “I believe that in the end we will get a conviction. We will set a precedent.”
“This is not like other cases- I’m 100 per cent dedicated to this, it’s been my full-time job for the last three years- I’m completely committed to making this successful.”
The private prosecutor also commented on his plans to increase engagement with the campaign- “we are going to be running a huge communications campaign over the next six months which will be mainly be focused upon a documentary which we’re planning on making so that people can see what’s going on behind the scenes.”
Lying to the public
The focus of Mr Ball’s prosecution is what constitutes ‘misconduct in public office’. The core of the offence is the abuse of duty.
“You have to prove whether the public office holder has done something which has abused the duties of their office to the extent that it damages public trust, not only from the people that he has abused the trust of, but of the public as a whole,” said Mr Ball.
According to academics, the core duty of an MP is to “scrutinise the spending of the government. The are the watchdog of the executive.”
When Boris Johson felt that the spending of UK money on EU membership was too high and so not in the public interest, he was obligated to criticise it. But when he did, he was required to do so in an honest, faithful way”
Asked whether this was the case during the EU Referendum, the private prosecutor said “when he was lying to the public on television in front of millions, he was abusing that duty by carrying it out in a dishonest fashion.”
“It is this that we are determined to set a precedent against- wilfully misleading the British public.”
A creep and a ‘chancer’ deciding to have some high life living on the expenses of crowd funding. Some idiots for funding him!
Hello Jason, do you have any proof to support your statement above? I would be very interested in reading it. Thanks!
Yes, I’m sure chancers devote three years of an otherwise rewarding and lucrative life in the legal profession, sleeping for a year on a friend’s couch to save money for the case, because it’s so much fun. No one lives a high life on crowdfunding; that would be Tories’ salaries and “donations” from their even richer friends who let them think they can lie to the public with impunity, as did bogus PM BJ.
“…an otherwise rewarding and lucrative life in the legal profession”. Marcus Ball is not a lawyer; he has a history degree from a fifth rate university which, by his own admission, is not worth the paper it is printed on. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH6t6WZ8Yd4) He has never had a proper job in his life but now lives off money he skims (i.e. steals) from crowdfunding his baseless and vexatious case. He arrogance and sanctimony are matched only by his ignorance and stupidity.
Are you a dedicated right winger in political views and doubtless a ‘leaver’?
Jason – as one of those ‘idiots’ who crowdfunded this, I a VERY familiar with how the Crowdfund has been spent, when, where and the relative merits of the case. Your comments would suggest you might not be. I really would urge you to have a look before you condemn
Boris, is that you?
It’s people like you Jason, that deny evidence for egotistical reasons and personal agendas, that are at service to self instead of being at service to others, that do not promote freedom, joy and love to all, that do not promote equal access to opportunities to all, honesty and transparency, that make this planet the shit hole that it is at the moment… but your days are counted mate… we are coming for you and all your palls. Our light is exposing all your darkness. Our light is bringing awareness to your putrid games.
Transparency in politics and finances is coming, as is accountability in politics for all the lies, manipulation and exploitation of people.
We are making the change, and we won’t stop.
Who’s paying you Jason? Marcus is doing this because he is passionate about it. I’m quite sure he could have a much higher standard of living doing something else other than this. He’s clearly not doing it for money, he is doing it because he is sick of the lying that is now commonplace in British politics. What exactly is your motivation though I wonder.
Who is paying you?
Not as good it at as Farage is he ? He made £750K on top of £80k take home .. now he’s a pro at playing the suckers
So you pontificating arsehole what are you doing to stop the country you live in turning to shit? You’re very big on shooting your mouth off on facebook. What are you doing to oppose the corruption which is fuckin up the country?
I don’t expect an answer from you to may questions? All I expect from you is a lot of ill considered abuse. But you could prove me wrong#
Been following the updates of this case for the past 3 years mate. Don’t make a fool of yourself, you literally have no idea of the detail that’s gone into this.
We all know that that’s what Jonson is. The question is – how to stop him and say’enough is enough’.
You condone lying. Did your mum never teach you it’s wrong to lie?
You approve of MP’s lying? = are you an MP?
I think ‘Jason’ must be a pseudonym for ‘Boris’!
That ‘Chancer’ got my money and I’ll give him more, Jason. To my mind he’s serving the public interest far more than the liars and cheats currently masquerading as public servants.
It is my understanding that thanks to his diligence, Marcus is in debt to the tune of tens, even hundreds of thousands of pounds. None of the crowdfunding goes into his personal account. Making unfounded allegations like this are part of the toxic world of false news that the likes of Johnson have created.
Perhaps Jason is an ally of BJ simply trying to discredit Marcus’s efforts – and, in fact, simply reflecting BJ’s principles
I actually funded this man for the last 3 years and he is showing determination, resourcefulness and commitment along with a full account of his spending and all the steps taken along the way. This is real democracy in action with full transparency, unlike the politics we are witnessing on daily basis, with backroom shady deals and questionable characters. If Brexit was manufactured through Facebook and Twitter for the benefit of the few, the same weapons can be used to change this political system and make lying in politics a criminal offence. That ought to stop snake oil salesmen such as Mr Johnson from making baseless promises and wild claims, and instead use verifiable facts to base their policies on.
Yeah…come on Jason…don’t be shy…share with us your evidence.
How different our lives would be if politicians, journalists and political commentators always told the truth! Anything we can do to bring things a little closer to this ideal is worthwhile as far as I am concerned.
Thank goodness for people like Marcus Ball I say!
This seems like a movie… Go Marcus!
Thank you for pursuing this. Sometimes the principle matters quite a lot!
I personally, have had ‘repeated’ experiences of how broken our legal system is in this country… “twice” receiving convictions for harassment due to peacefully trying to deal with antisocial neighbours in deprived areas.
http://sebastianwhitewrites.wordpress.com/category/personal-challenges/
There’s an intrinsic link between democracy and truth, and therefore justice, and when that is broken we will have little in the way of democracy left.
This case, and the fight many other are undertaking is crucial.
Boris “Get off me” Johnson lied to the public in a big way and Dominic “tee shirt” Cummings who ran the official Leave campaign and now runs the government confirmed in 2017 that the red bus false £350m a week propaganda was a lie that benefited the Leave campaign and secured the 20% swing vote. This is a major fraud on the public and British democracy. Keep up the good work and expose the conspiracy behind this.
There is no lack of proof: Boris was filmed at least 6 times being challenged about the cost of membership of the EU. On each occasion, he gave a substantially different answer – not just thousands of pounds different – many, many millions. In short, he was making things up to attract the sympathy of potential voters against the EU, not quoting figures arrived at by responsible keepers of Government accounts. Would you buy a used car from this man if the running costs were so variously quoted in several return visits to the garage? The figures were sensationally erratic. If the amounts had risen steadily each time he was interviewed, one might have believed that he had consulted experts. The fluctuations were enormous and absurd and indicative of desperate attempts to replace missing facts with startling,newsworthy figures.
The case got shut down as soon as Boris Johnson became PM. It got shut down in a way which has no basis in law. No reasons were given. Why? If the High Court finds it has no business proceeding they need to give their reasoning and dismiss the arguments properly.
Cressida Dick the Met Police Commissioner has also dragged her heels over her inquiry into Vote Leave, who were found guilty of election fraud by the Electoral Commission. She said that it would take ‘weeks not months’ and has now gone silent and isn’t responding to requests for an update since Johnson moved into Downing Street. Unacceptable. She needs to be held to account and keep her promise.
He’s right, there are strings being pulled at the highest level to circumvent due process. People are being leaned on to ignore their responsibilities, or are choosing to do so for their careers. Either way, it’s unlawful behaviour.
He’s right to continue. He’s kicked the hornet’s nest. They’re swarming about and stinging, but he needs to smoke them out.
I sincerely hope it doesn’t, but If anything ‘happens’ to Marcus as he digs deeper into their muck, we’ll know it isn’t an accident. We’ll be emulating Putin’s Russia where opposition technically exists but the ability to exercise it is crushed.
Don’t give up Marcus.
regardless of the merits – or not – of Mr Ball’s case; we have to ask ourselves why is it so difficult to sue people in political power in this country?
I am really grateful that someone is willing to fight and keep fighting against corrupt politics – BJ should be held to account for the lies he told.
Great work Marcus and good on you for having the courage to carry on fighting. These are dangerous times and this isn’t the only lie Johnson has told to mislead this country.
Watch this interview. It’s always good to be informed before you leap to judgements. https://www.channel4.com/news/campaigner-marcus-ball-we-still-accuse-boris-johnson-of-having-lied-to-the-public
The David and Goliath analogy may apply here Marcus. It appears that the Goliath, in this case not Johnson but the whole legal system closing ranks on you, need to be careful of their own asymmetric weaknesses; which it is you job to find.
That enough people believe in your aspiration to pull this off more than demonstrates the backlog of anger and frustration that the British public are just being manipulated in one big rotten borough.
It is the people not supporting this case that should reflect on their analysis of the situation.
Ok, now troll me people….
He’s doing this in the public interest because it’s something that he and 150,000 supporters believe in. Got my vote.
This case raises fundamental issues about democracy, politicians and trust, and it has to proceed. I will continue to help fund it in my own small way so that Marcus can fight on. I thought the Brits loved the underdog, and Goliaths don’t come much bigger than the PM.
In order for us to have any kind of meaningful discussion, we have to ensure that public figures are trustworth. This case is vitally important as there is compelling evidence that Boris Johnson lied. If we can’t trust our public figures then we can’t have an effective democracy. The judge’s ruling is very surprising.
In response to the article, the High Court ruling has given Johnson licence to continue weaving his web of deceit. He is in a position of power and it was pointed out by some that he was lying during his recent PMQs with the public. I think it might be interesting to have a look at the judge/judges in this case. Carol Cadwalladr reports that 12 MPs are stopping the Met Police proceeding with prosecutions over the illegalities in the referendum. It may be that there’s political interference again, in fact, we might say quite probably. In which case British justice is being subverted by the government
Well done Marcus, terrific work and good luck with taking this case forward!
I voted to leave the EU and I have made two donations to the Marcus Ball campaign. Why, because I have had enough of politicians lying to us. The first protest march I joined in was against the Iraq war, because I was sure Blair and Colin Powell, with his file of Anthrax, was lying to us. After a long enquiry Blair was found to have lied to us but at a meeting of MP’s in Westminster Hall, by a majority of 270, MP’s voted against prosecuting him. No one else is allowed to lie in their job as MP’s do. The public only have the Judiciary to help stop this lying, now we have been let down by a morally depraved Judiciary. What would the Authorities prefer us to do, emulate the yellow vest movement in France?
Yes, something very fishy here –
1) Insufficient time allocated to the case
2) No consideration of the prosecution evidence
3) No justification for the verdict handed down
Please keep going, the principle is too important to remain untested. I and other backers will contribute.
BJ may become less bullet proof when he’s no longer PM, I don’t think we’ll have to wait long for that.
This is typical of how the elite behave when threatened. They will deny the very reality of the law if it suits them. This ruling directly contradicts the Magna Carta and Common Law.
Unbelievably stupid statement from Jason. I too would be very interested in hearing the reasoning behind what you say but I doubt whether you have anything but hot air. I am one of the idiots who has supported Marcus and not for one millisecond do I think he has taken advantage of me or the system.
I sympathise with the intention of this case, and have contributed to the crowdfunding. However, after listening to the Clive Anderson “Unreliable Evidence” programme on this law (Radio 4 7th August https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0007ksv ) I can see why there is doubt about it. There is no question that Johnson knowingly lied, but it is not at all clear that he was doing so “in public office”. It is true that for part of the referendum campaign he was in public office as Mayor of London, but ti is not clear that he was acting “in public office” when he campaigned.
Boris Johnson is not a person one can take seriously because of his lies. same with Trump. Boris and Rees Mogg etc., are selling this country off to the highest bidder too. I am feeling very disturbed by what is going on. smacks of dictatorship.
Message for Jason… (If you can read this much ‘stuff’)
I spent five years fighting the Chief Coroner for an inquest on my late husband. He was not given his prescribed medication on admission to hospital or for a further eleven days of a seventeen day stay that ended with his death. All the doctors and nurses that attended him were told about this by him, by me and by our 38 year old daughter.
I had the hospital’s/patient’s own records to prove what had happened, not hearsay or he said/she said and I had a police’s expert report but this was not enough for the Chief Coroner to agree to an inquest. The Ministry of Justice and the local MP did not help. The
Coroner seemed answerable to no one and had decided to protect the hospital. I discovered the source of funding of his Office was the local ratepayer. Hey Presto, the inquest imposed a regulation 28 on the hospital. You cannot trust the legal system to do what it actually should do, it is always down to the individuals own personal and political choices.
I am white working class, a former cleaner, 74 year old and not living in London, I clearly remember the UK before the EU and the lack of everything with the ending of the empire, which, as young as I was I knew was right. The EU gave us hope. Not everything was right but we should have stayed and helped to change things. I have asked lots of my age group why leave? and they, apart from emigration and blue passports it was better in the old days! I call it small minded. I am ashamed of most of my contemporaries, they have taken the future of our younger generations and thrown it away, I know a ninety two year old who is horrified at what they have done. We’ll all probably be dead before you are living with long term consequences of this selfish act. You will have to grow up then Jason.