Marcus J Ball

I believe our world will be a better place when seriously abusive lying in politics becomes a criminal offence. Lying to start a war, to win a referendum, or to sway an election is not “politics as usual”; it is corruption, and it should be a crime. Since June 2016, more than 17,000 people have crowdfunded over £1 million to support my work to confront the lying-in-politics problem.

My first major action was the private prosecution of Boris Johnson in Ball v Johnson (2019), which I brought to set a legal precedent against political deception. Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruled that the case must proceed to a full jury trial, and it became global news. It was the world’s first case of its kind. However, two judges in the High Court shut it down before a jury could hear it.

The circumstances behind that decision, and exclusive investigations into related incidents, are revealed in a major documentary film about lying in politics and the fight to make it illegal, releasing in 2026. This will be my second major work on the political deceit problem. The film is directed by Kazeem Manzur, with Matt Perry as Director of Photography and Emmy-nominated Tom Goodman-Hill producing. It is a co-production between my film company, Radiator Productions, and Sozo21, whose documentary credits include Netflix and Amazon.

My third action was to author amendment proposals to the Public Office (Accountability) Bill 2025. The Bill, introduced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, would criminalise lying by Government Ministers, but not MPs or judges. Parliament has published my Amendments Proposal for the Bill Committee. Within it I argue that both MPs and Judges must be included, and that the offence must be rigorously defined if it is to work. My long-term goal is to establish ExecProsec, my not-for-profit organisation, as a fully funded NGO capable of prosecuting powerful public officials for abusive conduct that the police and CPS avoid.

I am a social entrepreneur, private prosecutor, investigative journalist, documentary producer and presenter, and now a Parliamentary Bill amendment proposer. I write, I speak, and I act where others will not. Sometimes at great personal cost.

Together, we will build a more advanced democracy, one in which lying in politics is finally a crime.