The election watchdog misled the High Court during a dispute over the legality of a donation made by the official pro-Brexit campaign group during the 2016 referendum, judges have ruled.
The case relates to funds worth around £620,000, which were offered by Vote Leave to BeLeave, a separate group run by Darren Grimes, then a student activist.
Mr Grimes asked for the money to be paid directly to AggregateIQ (AIQ), a Canadian IT company that carried out online targeted advertising campaigns.
A judgment issued last week said that a statement by the Electoral Commission was “misleading” in “asserting that it had never given advice that Vote Leave could lawfully make the donation it did”.
It came...