Show caption Nicky Morgan wants the British Polling Council to modify its rules so pollsters are forced to inform respondents that information they supply may be used to help private clients make money. Photograph: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Opinion polls Hedge funds’ purchase of Brexit vote polling data under scrutiny Treasury committee chair questions use of private polling to profit on pound’s fall Staff and agency Thu 27 Sep 2018 19.01 EDT Share on Facebook

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Polling companies are facing parliamentary scrutiny over the sale of private polls to hedge funds during the Brexit referendum, which were used to place huge bets on the pound.

Nicky Morgan, a Conservative MP and chair of the powerful Treasury select committee, has written to British Polling Council president, Sir John Curtice, warning that the use of private polling data during election and referendum campaigns could risk the integrity of financial markets.

It follows a Bloomberg report earlier this year into private polling data sold by companies such as YouGov, Survation and ICM in the run-up to the 2016 Brexit vote.

They were bought by hedge funds eager to cash in on extreme volatility in currency markets and profit from the result of the EU referendum, with several commissioning private exit polls in order to bet on the price of sterling.

The pound was trading above $1.50 on the eve of the vote, before tumbling to $1.32 when it became clear that leave was to emerge victorious, netting millions for those on the right side of the bet.

Immediately after the Brexit referendum polls closed at 10pm on 23 June 2016, the then Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, gave an interview to Sky News in which he said “it looks like Remain will edge it”.

The news of an apparent concession by the leave campaign’s most prominent figure immediately after polls closed briefly pushed the value of sterling up to its highest level in six months.

However, when the pound subsequently crashed as the true result became clear, any individuals or companies with short bets would have profited. Shorting is the practice of selling shares or other assets which you do not own, in the hope of buying them back at a cheaper price in the future and making a profit.

Farage has denied placing currency bets against sterling and told Bloomberg in June that the only external exit poll he received on the day of the referendum was conducted by Survation. Survation’s poll correctly predicted that leave would win the referendum.

He repeatedly told Bloomberg that he learned the results of the exit poll “minutes after” Sky broadcast his comments.

“The integrity of UK financial markets is a key concern of the Treasury committee and the Bloomberg report raises concerns in this regard,” Morgan said.

“During election and referendum campaigns, polling companies present themselves as neutral observers of public opinion. Yet behind the scenes, they are selling private polling data to hedge funds to make profitable trades.

“It’s understandable why polling firms are attracted to this more lucrative private work. But there is a perverse commercial incentive to provide misleading information to the public, while providing more accurate – and lucrative – analysis to private clients.”

The Tory MP is calling on the British Polling Council to modify its rules so pollsters are forced to inform respondents to polls that the information they supply may be used to help private clients make money.

In addition, polling firms would have to disclose, when publishing or discussing published polls, whether they have conducted similar work on behalf of private clients.