Brexit MPs: Take EU Propaganda Off Website

The Government must take the "pro EU propaganda" off its website by Friday or risk breaking the law, Brexit MPs have warned.

Boris Johnson is among 28 MPs demanding that content on the official Government website that seeks to persuade people to vote for the UK to remain in the EU should be taken down for purdah.

Purdah is the period in the run-up to the election during which the Government is not allowed to make any major announcements.

In one of a number of "blue on blue" EU attacks on George Osborne, who was standing in for David Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions, the Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin warned the Chancellor that failure to comply would be illegal.

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Mr Osborne ensured him that the Government would comply with the rules.

A Downing Street source said that content already on the website would stay up but no new information on the EU referendum should be posted or linked to during purdah.

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However, Brexit MPs said legal opinions from Speaker's Counsel Michael Carpenter suggested that approach still breached rules for Whitehall to withdraw from campaigning in the closing weeks.

In a letter to Mr Cameron, the MPs wrote: "We therefore demand that any government web pages carrying material published with the intention of persuading people to vote remain should be taken down before Section 125 of PPERA (Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000) comes into force this Friday."

Mr Osborne told Mr Jenkin: "Of course the Government will comply with the law and Government websites will comply with the purdah rules, and we are confident that they do.

"But can I make a general observation. You and I have fought for this referendum, the referendum is taking place, there are some huge issues at stake about Britain's economy, Britain's security, Britain's place in the world.

"We have perfectly honourable disagreements on those big issues. Let's debate the substance rather than the process and then the British people will feel they've had a range of opinions and they can make their mind up."

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The EU referendum debate has been dominated by Tory in-ighting with increasingly bitter exchanges between senior Conservatives.

Shadow First Secretary of State Angela Eagle sought to capitalise on the divisions while filling in for Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister’s Questions.

She said the Tories were so busy fighting over the EU they had taken their eye off running the country.