Pro-Brexit campaign group Vote Leave has been fined £40,000 for sending thousands of unsolicited text messages in the run-up to the EU referendum.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said the organisation sent 196,154 messages and was unable to provide evidence recipients had consented, as required by electronic marketing law.

They said Vote Leave claimed it had deleted evidence of consent relied upon to send the messages after the referendum in 2016.

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ICO director of investigations Steve Eckersley said: "Spam texts are a real nuisance for millions of people and we will take action against organisations who disregard the law.

"Direct marketing is not just about selling products and services, it's also about promoting an organisation's aims and ideals.

"Political campaigns and parties, like any other organisations, have to comply with the law."

The announcement came hours after Labour Leave was fined £9,000 for failing to report donations during the 2016 EU referendum.

The registered campaign group received 11 donations worth £420,000 during the referendum but did not report two of them.

Electoral Commission director of regulation Louise Edwards said Labour Leave had a responsibility to accurately report donations "so the public could see where the money they used for campaigning came from".

John Bercow comes under close scrutiny in the national newspapers as they give their views on his ruling over another vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal.

The Commons Speaker scuppered the chance of another Commons vote on the Prime Minister's deal before Thursday's EU summit, ruling that she could not bring her EU Withdrawal Agreement back before MPs unless it was substantially different from the package that was defeated last week.

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Confirming it has now paid the fines, she said: "The responsible person for Labour Leave had an important legal duty to accurately report all donations.

"In this case, they failed to do so which led to a disappointing lack of transparency into the group's finances."

Labour Leave was required to deliver pre-poll reports of donations received, and a post-poll spending return including all donations accepted.

Ms Edwards said investigators found two donations, each worth £10,000, had not been declared in pre-poll reports nor in post-poll reports.

These were non-cash donations of office space, one from Better for the Country Limited, the other from John Mills Limited.

Labour Leave was fined £1,000 for omitting the donations in pre-poll returns and £8,000 for omitting them again in post-poll returns.

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Meanwhile, the commission also received £6,250 in fines from the Conservative Party for inaccurate reporting from the 2017 UK parliamentary general election.

The party has paid another £5,050 for inaccurate quarterly donations and transactions reports.

The Liberal Democrats have been fined £4,750 for inaccurate quarterly donations reports.

Ms Edwards said: "The reporting requirements are clear, so it is always disappointing when parties - especially well-funded ones - fail to provide accurate reports.

"It is vital that voters are given an opportunity to see full and accurate data on where parties' money comes from.

"The commission will continue to enforce these requirements on all parties and campaigners to ensure that voters have the information they need."