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#BALLVJOHNSON Prosecution Case Gets Its First Day in Court

· United Kingdom,Law,Marcus Ball,Prosecution,Boris Johnson
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Marcus J Ball, private prosecutor, founder of Brexit Justice ltd. outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

A crowdfunded private prosecution case against Mr Boris Johnson MP has been given its first date in court.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court has ruled that Ball V Johnson’s first court appearance will take place on May 14th at 2pm.

The first hearing will be held in private with a second, public hearing, set to occur either immediately afterwards or in the following few days.

Marcus J Ball, 29, private prosecutor, took his case against Mr Johnson to Westminster Magistrates’ Court on February 22nd 2019.

He has accused Mr Johnson of abusing public trust in his office as Mayor of London and Member of Parliament by intentionally misleading the public with regards to how much money the UK spends on EU membership.

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Boris Johnson MP and the infamous battle bus during the 2016 Brexit referendum

Mr Johnson MP, ex Mayor of London and UK Foreign Secretary, infamously claimed that the UK ‘sends’ £350 million a week to the EU. He was told by the head of the UK Statistics Authority that to do so was ‘a clear misuse of official statistics’.

Mr Ball, originally from Norfolk, has worked full time on the prosecution case since June 2016 in his effort to address lying in politics.

Marcus stated that ‘I believe that When Politicians Lie Democracy dies. If a company director lies to shareholders about financial matters they can be prosecuted. If a self employed person lies to HMRC about their spending or income they can be prosecuted. If a member of the public lies to the police about an ongoing investigation they can be prosecuted. This is because society and public trust cannot function based upon false information. So, why shouldn’t a politician be prosecuted for abusing public trust by lying about public spending figures?’

Mr Ball also argued that ‘This case is a world first, it has never happened before. A Member of Parliament has never been prosecuted for misconduct in public office based upon alleged lying to the public. However, in 2014 PC Keith Wallis was given a 1 year prison sentence for misconduct in public officebecause of knowingly false statements he made. Mr Wallis lied to his MP and other police officers about witnessing the Plebgate scandal which took place on Downing Street on the evening of Wednesday 19 September 2012’.

‘My backers and I aspire to set a precedent in the UK common law making it illegal for an elected representative to lie to the public about financial matters. This would be the beginning of the end of lying in politics in the UK. Because of how the English common law works it’s possible that such a precedent could be internationally persuasive by influencing the law in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada and India’.

Mr Boris Johnson MP is innocent unless proven guilty and all those reporting upon this case are asked to do so in a way that respects the proper administration of justice.

Marcus J Ball is on Twitter and more information on his work can be found via www.MarcusJBall.com and www.BrexitJustice.com.

Marcus can be contacted via either of those websites.