Vote Leave gave £625,000 to a fashion design student in the days before the EU referendum to persuade young voters to opt for Brexit, it has been revealed.

Vote Leave gave £625,000 to a fashion design student in the days before the EU referendum to persuade young voters to opt for Brexit, it has been revealed.

According to Electoral Commission records, Vote Leave handed the substantial sum of money to 23-year-old Darren Grimes in the run up to 23 June, making him one of the best-funded unofficial campaigners of the entire EU referendum, reports The Times.

Staggering number of students who voted against Brexit revealed
One Vote Leave individual gave Mr Grimes an additional £50,000, bringing the total amount of money acquired to £675,315. Vote Leave said the student was given the money because it was close to breaching its £7 million spending limit and, therefore, wanted to make sure all the money it had been given would be used, added The Times. The source also confirmed the amount had been cleared with the Electoral Commission.

Mr Grimes spent the money on the social media-driven campaign, BeLeave. Listed as an official Vote Leave outreach group, BeLeave sought to represent young people in the campaign for an Out vote by “putting forward an optimistic case for leaving.”

International students less likely to come to the UK post-Brexit
On its Facebook page, BeLeave said:

“We believe in an optimistic vision of Britain and we hope to inspire a generation to make an informed and rational choice. We want to put forward the optimistic case for leaving — a truly global community, unlimited employment opportunities, and a future with unleashed potential.”

Despite being given the large sum of money to sway young voters, though, BeLeave managed to acquire only 6,300 Facebook likes and just 3,700 followers on Twitter.

Appearing in a Channel 4 News interview in the days after the Brexit result was announced, Mr Grimes said he was “absolutely thrilled” and “so proud” of the UK. He added:

“I think we took power and gave it to individuals to make this decision. We decided to go forward as a Britain with global horizons, a Britain which is more internationalist, free trading, and I really look forward to an exciting future now.”