BROKE THE RULES

Brexit Campaign Used Data Illegally During Referendum Campaign

Leave.EU campaign fined.

Brexit campaign group Leave.EU and an insurance firm owned by the campaign’s main bankroller, Arron Banks, have been fined for illegal data breaches. An investigation by Britain’s information commissioner found that more than a million emails sent to Leave.EU subscribers contained marketing for Banks’ Eldon Insurance. Leave.EU was also fined for “using Eldon Insurance customers’ details unlawfully to send almost 300,000 political marketing messages.” The fines over the data breaches totaled £120,000 (around $156,000.) Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said: “It is deeply concerning that sensitive personal data gathered for political purposes was later used for insurance purposes; and vice versa. It should never have happened.” Leave.EU said it was a “politically motivated attack against our involvement in Brexit.” Banks—one of the self-named “Bad Boys of Brexit” alongside Nigel Farage—still faces a criminal investigation into the source of millions in donations he made to the Leave.EU campaign.

BAD BOY OF BREXIT

The Man Who Bankrolled Brexit Under Criminal Investigation

Jamie Ross