Second EU referendum petition investigated for fraud

The House of Commons petitions committee is investigating allegations of fraud in connection with a petition calling for a second EU referendum.

Its inquiry is focused on the possibility that some names could be fraudulent -77,000 signatures have already been removed.

More than 3.2 million signatures are on the petition, but PM David Cameron has said there will be no second vote.

The UK voted by 52% to 48% to leave the EU in Thursday's referendum.

Helen Jones, who chairs the cross-party petitions committee, said in a statement posted on Twitter that it was taking the allegations "very seriously".

'A range of views'

"People adding fraudulent signatures to this petition should know that they undermine the cause they pretend to support," she said.

The committee will consider the petition at its meeting next week and decide whether to schedule a debate on it, Ms Jones said.

"That doesn't mean that the committee will be deciding whether or not it agrees with the petition - just whether or not it should be debated.

"Any debate would allow a range of views to be expressed."

A number of people on Twitter have pointed out that some people appear to have signed the petition from outside the UK.

Only British citizens or UK residents are permitted to sign the petition, including Britons based abroad.

The House of Commons petitions committee said it will continue to monitor the petition for "suspicious activity".

The petition has more signatures than any other on the parliamentary website.

•