Brexit: EU leaflet 'breaches rules' says Shropshire MP Owen Paterson

North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson, a former cabinet minister, said the publication was a clear breach of internationally recognised protocols which would throw the legitimacy of the EU referendum into question.

He said the leaflets went against the principles of the Venice Commission, which was set up in 1990 to set out basic standards for democracy across Europe.

"Even Russia abides by the Venice Commission," said Mr Paterson.

"This is a clear breach of the Venice Commission. Spending £9 million of taxpayers' cash on propaganda for Remain affects the perception of legitimacy.

"The commission says public authorities at every level must not engage in excessive one-sided campaigning but show neutrality.

"Equality of opportunity must be guaranteed for the supporters and opponents of proposal being voted on."

Telford MP Lucy Allan also criticised the expenditure. She said: "For the referendum to be a success voters need to be able to make an informed decision. This decision needs to be based on balanced, impartial information.

"The leaflet proposed by the Government does not fit this brief, and in my view is potentially counter-intuitive and may push people away from the Government's position.

"You have to ask whether it is right for the Government to be spending over £9 million of taxpayers' money on this exercise when the official campaign groups, which are yet to be designated, will be limited to spending £7 million of privately sourced funding."

The leaflet will cost £458,500 to create, with £5,947,436 being spent on printing and delivery to more than 27 million homes across the UK in two phases. Another £2,894,064 will go on a website which will be promoted on social media, taking the total cost to about 34p per household.

The leaflet, titled "Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK", will start to arrive through letterboxes in England next week – before "purdah" restrictions come into force, which prohibit government institutions from campaigning on political matters.

The leaflet tells voters that leaving the EU would "reduce investment and cost jobs", could push up food prices and damage living standards.

"The Government judges that what the UK gets back in opportunities, job creation and economic security from EU far outweighs the cost," it concludes.

The leaflet has also came under fire from James Carver, a Ukip Euro MP for Shropshire, who described it as outrageous.

"How brazen a smack in the face to democracy is that?" said Mr Carver.

"Taxpayers' money is blatantly being used by the Government to finance this propaganda blitz but meanwhile the campaign for Brexit is barred from spending such a vast sum."

Suzanne Evans, a Shrewsbury-based board member of the Vote Leave campaign, accused the Prime Minister of using the row to distract attention from questions about his tax affairs.

"It is sleazy and shameful," she said.

Downing Street said the move was a response to Government-commissioned polling which showed 85 per cent of the public wanted it to supply more information to help them make an informed choice on June 23.

However, Mr Carver said this was disingenuous. "People do want more information but they want to know the case for both sides and not just one," he said.

Environment Secretary Liz Truss said it was "crucial that the public have clear and accessible information".