Momentum was fined £16,700 by the Electoral Commission today for 'multiple breaches' of election law during the 2017 campaign.

The Corbyn-supporting group filed an inaccurate account of its spending and failed to properly report donations.

The elections watchdog handed down its highest ever fine to a non-party campaigner for not submitting a complete and accurate spending return.

The fines are hugely embarrassing for Momentum, which was founded out of Jeremy Corbyn's first leadership campaign, after it was credited with helping fuel a Labour surge at the snap election in 2017.

The Electoral Commission said it was 'particularly disappointing' Momentum failed to follow the law on non-party campaigners and political work was its full time task.

Momentum branded the elections rules 'comic' and 'gagging laws' and said the fines levied against it were 'disproportionate' in a lengthy statement.

The fines are hugely embarrassing for Momentum, which was founded out of Jeremy Corbyn's first leadership campaign, after it was credited with helping fuel a Labour surge at the snap election in 2017

The Electoral Commission said it was 'particularly disappointing' Momentum failed to follow the law on non-party campaigners and political work was its full time task

Louise Edwards, Director of Regulation at the Electoral Commission, said: 'Non-party campaigners are essential for a healthy democracy.

'But just as crucial is that after a poll, voters can see complete and accurate spending data.

'The fines that we have levied reflect Momentum's repeated revisions to their spending return, poor record keeping and failure to follow advice given by the Commission prior to the election.'

Of Momentum's legal obligations, Ms Edwards added: 'Non-party campaigners that seek to persuade people to vote a certain way rightly have legal obligations.

What was Momentum fined for? The Electoral Commission concluded: Momentum failed to submit a spending return that was complete and accurate. It has been fined £12,150 for this offence.

It omitted £22,958.46 of reportable donations from a post poll donation report. It has been fined £2,700 for this offence.

The group also failed to provide the required declaration to accompany their post poll donations report. It has been fined £250 for this offence.

Momentum also failed to provide all required invoices with their spending return. It has been fined £250 for this offence. Advertisement

'It is incumbent on them to invest properly in having the right processes and staff to meet their obligations.

'Momentum is unlike most non-party campaigners in that political campaigning is its full-time work, so it is particularly disappointing that they have failed to meet the law's requirements.'

Following an investigation, the Electoral Commission concluded Momentum failed to submit a spending return that was complete and accurate. It has been fined £12,150 for this offence.

It omitted £22,958.46 of reportable donations from a post poll donation report. It has been fined £2,700 for this offence.

The group also failed to provide the required declaration to accompany their post poll donations report. It has been fined £250 for this offence.

Momentum also failed to provide all required invoices with their spending return. It has been fined £250 for this offence.

Momentum was set up by Jon Lansman (file) from Mr Corbyn's first leadership campaign and now works full time to install him in Downing Street

Momentum spokeswoman Laura Parker welcomed the Electoral Commission finding the group did not overspend overall and said the inquiry was 'understandable'.

She said: 'The level of detail required under the law was often comic. In one instance, the Electoral Commission queried the purchase of a pizza, wanting to know what percentage of the pizza was eaten by staff members and what percentage by volunteers.

'These gagging laws, introduced by the Conservatives and opposed at the time by hundreds of campaign groups, are deliberately designed to leave big money unregulated whilst throttling volunteer led, campaigning organisations with burdensome regulation which in some cases is almost impossible to follow.'

Insisting Momentum was 'proud' to be funded by small donors, Ms Parker added: 'We also believe the fines levelled are disproportionate.

'The fines and associated staff time will cost Momentum more than our entire regulated campaign spend during the election.

'Not only did Momentum cooperate fully with the Electoral Commission, but these offences are incredibly minor when compared with other political organisations.

'There were also various mitigating circumstances which should be taken into account.

'Momentum was a new, volunteer led organisation and this was the first time we had to follow the regulations.

'We also could not have been expected to know an election was coming, with the Fixed Term Parliament Act supposedly fixing a date for elections and Theresa May repeatedly stated that she was not going to call a snap election.'