LONDON (Reuters) - The official campaign for Britain to leave the European Union has complained to police about an advertisement by Ryanair that offers expatriate Britons cheap tickets to come home and vote to stay in the bloc.
The Irish airline has been actively campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU, spending 25,000 euros (19,269.5 pounds) on adverts urging customers to vote "In" and warning that it might withdraw some investment from Britain if "Out" voters win.
In a "Brexit special" advertisement, Ryanair said British voters overseas could fly home to vote "Remain" for 19.99 euros on the day of the referendum, June 23, or the day before. The tongue-in-cheek ad doesn't suggest Ryanair has any way of knowing how passengers would vote, if at all.
Vote Leave, the official Brexit campaign, wrote to London's Metropolitan Police complaining the special offer may violate referendum rules and anti-bribery laws.
"This appears to be corrupt, since the company is offering discounts on the commercial rate to customers with the sole aim of ensuring that they vote and vote to remain in the European Union," campaign director Dominic Cummings wrote to the police.
In response, Ryanair extended the booking period for its special offer by 24 hours, to midnight on Friday.
"The 'Leave' campaign must be getting really desperate if they're objecting to low-fare travel for British citizens," Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said in a statement.
"As the UK's largest airline, Ryanair is absolutely clear that the UK economy and its growth prospects are stronger as a member of the European Union and the single market than they are outside the EU," he said.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the force had received the letter, would consider its contents and respond in due course.
(This story has been corrected to make clear booking period, not travel period, extended by 24 hours)