Darren Grimes "Sobbed" After Winning Appeal Against Electoral Commission

20 July 2019, 11:52 | Updated: 20 July 2019, 19:07

The founder of pro-Brexit campaign BeLeave tells LBC he sobbed when he won his appeal against a £20,000 fine imposed by the Electoral Commission.

Darren Grimes said the case had been a "great stress" for his family and described the hardest moment was when his mum told him she would sell her house.

But he told Iain Dale of his delight after winning his appeal against the fine - an action taken by the Electoral Commission in relation to a £675,315 donation from the prominent campaign group Vote Leave.

"I'm absolutely delighted," he said.

"I actually think this is a victory for the 17.4 million as well because there has been a massive smear against that vote, and the courts turned around and said all of the mad conspiracy theories, so-called whistleblowers were full of contradictions.

"The commission didn't follow due process and didn't give me a fair hearing.

"I actually sobbed in that courtroom yesterday."

Mr Grimes added that a "massive weight" had been lifted off his shoulders by the result.

The pro-Brexit activist succeeded in overturning the £20,000 fine over electoral spending offences during the 2016 referendum.

In its response to the result, the Electoral Commission said: "We are disappointed that the court has upheld Mr Grimes's appeal.

"We will now review the full detail of the judgement before deciding on next steps, including any appeal."

Watch in full above.