London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Top Brexiteer exposed as con artist who scammed £519,000 from James Caan

The Tory activist who produced Brexit: The Movie has been jailed for almost four years after conning a Dragon’s Den star’s business into investing £519,000 in his company.

David Shipley, 37, was the leading figure behind the film which encouraged Britons to vote leave the EU in the 2016 EU referendum and featured Nigel Farage.

He was sentenced to three years and nine months on Thursday after admitting to inflating his salary in photoshopped documents in order to convince entrepreneur James Caan’s company to lend him hundreds of thousands.

The Conservative first approached Mr Caan’s business Resourcing Capital Ventures (RCV) with a ‘Dragon’s Den style pitch’ in 2014 to request the loan for his start-up corporate firm Spitfire Capital Advisors Ltd.

To be in with a chance of securing the funds, he lied on a P60 form, claiming his salary was £377,000 when in reality he was earning under £60,000.

Gareth Munday, prosecuting, told Southwark Crown court it was ‘on this assurance’ that RCV agreed to fund Spitfire, as Shipley’s income proved his expertise in financial recruitment and would also be used to finance the business.

He said: ‘However the bank statements and the P60 were false. He later admitted that he photoshopped the documents but denied that he had done anything wrong.’

Describing Shipley as an ‘underachiever’, he added: ‘Between the years of 2011 and 2014 the only commission he had earned was £19,928.

‘Essentially he had not placed people and he had in fact left his previous employment over a cloud. He had failed to turn up for his employment and when asked he said his dad had died.

‘The company found out about the lie when they phoned his house to express their condolences and spoke to his father.’

‘When interviewed by police Mr Shipley said he had not done anything wrong, simply photoshopped his statements, it was a white lie.’

Benjamin Narain, defending, said the Tory had showed genuine remorse and the business ‘did not fail solely because of him’.

Claiming Shipley’s political career was over forever, he said: ‘He felt guilt and embarrassment, he is genuinely sorry for being involved in this offence.

‘He accepts the forged bank statements and P60 were wrong. However all losses from this business do not stem from that fraud.’

The Tory had undergone extensive tests for an undiagnosed illness in his throat and was awaiting the results for an MRI scan on his bowel when he appeared in court.

Mr Narain urged the court to ‘read between the lines’ and consider that Shipley was in ‘a lot of pain’, often needing to ‘shower and wash himself after’ bathroom trips.

However, a statement from a representative of RCV said they ‘would not have touched him with a barge pole’ without the forged bank statements.

Shipley admitted one count of fraud by false representation and denied a second charge of fraud by abuse of position between June 1 2014 and December 31 2017, which will lie on file.

Judge Martin Griffith sentenced him to three years and nine months imprisonment and disqualified him from being a director for seven years.

He will serve half of the sentence of licence.

Referencing Shipley’s claims that the photoshopping of the documents was a ‘white lie’, the judge said the Tory had ‘abused’ the company’s trust.

He said: ‘It must have been perfectly clear to you that that was a load of old rubbish. You must have known you were guilty of the offence.

‘You pleaded guilty and that resulted in a loss of discount because your guilty plea was not entered at the first opportunity.’

He added: ‘As far as I’m concerned medical reports show that you’re perfectly well for me to sentence to custody.

‘Thank heavens you haven’t got a [serious medical condition] and we’ve found that out now.

‘Your possible political career has now gone well there we are, that’s what happens when you commit an offence of dishonesty.

‘In your case I’m told that’s what’s happened. Good. A 37-year-old who cannot now pursue the possibility of a political career. This was just a blatant piece of dishonesty.’

A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing is due to take place at a later date.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×