This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36295208
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
EU Referendum: Boris Johnson compares EU's aims to Hitler's | EU Referendum: Boris Johnson compares EU's aims to Hitler's |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Boris Johnson has compared the EU's aims to Hitler's, saying both involved the intention to unify Europe under a single "authority". | Boris Johnson has compared the EU's aims to Hitler's, saying both involved the intention to unify Europe under a single "authority". |
The pro-Brexit Tory MP said both the Nazi leader and Napoleon had failed at unification and the EU was "an attempt to do this by different methods". | The pro-Brexit Tory MP said both the Nazi leader and Napoleon had failed at unification and the EU was "an attempt to do this by different methods". |
Labour MP Yvette Cooper, from the Remain campaign, accused the ex-London Mayor of playing "nasty, nasty games". | Labour MP Yvette Cooper, from the Remain campaign, accused the ex-London Mayor of playing "nasty, nasty games". |
Meanwhile, UKIP leader Nigel Farage has backed Mr Johnson to be the next PM. | Meanwhile, UKIP leader Nigel Farage has backed Mr Johnson to be the next PM. |
Mr Farage told the Mail on Sunday he was a "Boris fan" and said he was backing the former mayor of London to succeed David Cameron, if the prime minister resigned following the EU referendum. | |
The referendum takes place on 23 June, when voters in the UK will be asked whether they want the country to stay in or leave the European Union. | The referendum takes place on 23 June, when voters in the UK will be asked whether they want the country to stay in or leave the European Union. |
'Democratic void' | |
Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Johnson said European history had seen repeated attempts to rediscover the "golden age of peace and prosperity under the Romans". | Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Johnson said European history had seen repeated attempts to rediscover the "golden age of peace and prosperity under the Romans". |
"Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods," he said. | |
"But fundamentally what is lacking is the eternal problem, which is that there is no underlying loyalty to the idea of Europe. | "But fundamentally what is lacking is the eternal problem, which is that there is no underlying loyalty to the idea of Europe. |
"There is no single authority that anybody respects or understands. That is causing this massive democratic void." | "There is no single authority that anybody respects or understands. That is causing this massive democratic void." |
Former Labour minister Ms Cooper accused Mr Johnson of having a "shameful lack of judgement" and a willingness to play "the most divisive, cynical politics". | Former Labour minister Ms Cooper accused Mr Johnson of having a "shameful lack of judgement" and a willingness to play "the most divisive, cynical politics". |
She added: "He should not try to play political games with the darkest and most serious chapter of Europe's history. The EU has played a critical role keeping peace in Europe ever since." | She added: "He should not try to play political games with the darkest and most serious chapter of Europe's history. The EU has played a critical role keeping peace in Europe ever since." |
Asked on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show about her views on the referendum campaign, Tory MP and Vote Leave campaigner Andrea Leadsom said Bank of England governor Mark Carney had made "an incredibly dangerous intervention" three days ago. | |
She said his comments that a vote to leave could hit the UK economy were "purely speculative". "They [the Bank] are not there to promote financial instability and that is what they have done," she said. | |
'Disappointing' | |
Also on Marr, Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster, who backs Leave, said Mr Carney's remarks were "rather surprising". | |
She also rejected suggestions that leaving the EU could harm relations with the Republic of Ireland or damage the peace process. | |
"I'm not worried at all, because the peace process is not built on the European Union," she said, adding that it had been "disappointing" to see former Foreign Secretary William Hague suggest there could be a negative impact. | |
Ms Foster said leaving the EU would free Britain and Northern Ireland from the bloc's "overreaching bureaucracy". | |
Campaigning in Oxfordshire on Saturday, Mr Cameron warned that leaving the EU would have a "devastating impact" on funding for infrastructure projects. | |
With less than six weeks to go until the vote, polls have put the Remain and Leave campaigns at roughly 50-50. | With less than six weeks to go until the vote, polls have put the Remain and Leave campaigns at roughly 50-50. |