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EU Referendum: Boris Johnson stands by Hitler EU comparison EU Referendum: Boris Johnson stands by Hitler EU comparison
(about 5 hours later)
Boris Johnson is standing by his comparison of the EU's aims to Hitler's, saying a row over the issue is an "artificial media twit storm".Boris Johnson is standing by his comparison of the EU's aims to Hitler's, saying a row over the issue is an "artificial media twit storm".
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".
Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, who backs Remain, said the comparison was "offensive and desperate".Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, who backs Remain, said the comparison was "offensive and desperate".
Meanwhile, UKIP leader Nigel Farage has backed Mr Johnson to be the next PM. Tory Leave campaigner Jacob Rees Mogg said Mr Johnson's analysis was correct.
Mr Farage told the Mail on Sunday he was a "Boris fan" and said he was backing the former London mayor 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.
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."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."
'Divisive politics''Divisive politics'
Rejecting Mr Johnson's analysis, Hillary Benn said: "Leave campaigners have lost the economic argument and now they are losing their moral compass. Rejecting Mr Johnson's analysis, Hilary Benn said: "Leave campaigners have lost the economic argument and now they are losing their moral compass.
"To try and compare Hitler and the Nazis - the millions of people who died in the Second World War, the Holocaust - with the free democracies of Europe coming together to trade and co-operate, and in the process to help to bring peace to the continent of Europe after centuries of war, is frankly deeply offensive.""To try and compare Hitler and the Nazis - the millions of people who died in the Second World War, the Holocaust - with the free democracies of Europe coming together to trade and co-operate, and in the process to help to bring peace to the continent of Europe after centuries of war, is frankly deeply offensive."
Mr Johnson, who is one of the leading voices in the campaign to get Britain out of the EU, was asked about the criticism of his comments earlier on Monday.Mr Johnson, who is one of the leading voices in the campaign to get Britain out of the EU, was asked about the criticism of his comments earlier on Monday.
He said there had been several attempts over thousands of years to "recreate the dream of the Roman Empire". He said there had been several attempts over thousands of years to "recreate the dream of the Roman Empire", and added: "Very often that's been done by force. The EU is different, it's trying to do it in a more bureaucratic way."
He added: "Very often that's been done by force. The EU is different, it's trying to do it in a more bureaucratic way." Mr Johnson said the EU was a "peaceful organisation" but repeated his point that it was "fundamentally undemocratic" and said it was operating "by stealth" and taking away the "powers and prerogatives of the people of this country".
He repeated his point that the EU was "completely undemocratic". On the campaign trail with Mr Johnson on Monday, Labour MP and Vote Leave chairwoman Gisela Stuart, who was born in Germany, was asked if she thought Mr Johnson's reference to Hitler was tasteful.
Ms Stuart said: "I think we'd all benefit, including our democracy, to go back to what the referendum is about."
Former Labour minister Yvette Cooper, who supports the Remain campaign, has accused Mr Johnson of a "shameful lack of judgement" and a willingness to play "the most divisive, cynical politics".Former Labour minister Yvette Cooper, who supports the Remain campaign, has accused Mr Johnson of a "shameful lack of judgement" and a willingness to play "the most divisive, cynical politics".
Lord Bramall, a former head of the British army, said making a comparison between the EU and Nazi Germany was "absurd".Lord Bramall, a former head of the British army, said making a comparison between the EU and Nazi Germany was "absurd".
He added: "Hitler's main aim was to create an empire in the East and violently subjugate Europeans. Any connection between that and the EU is simply laughable." "Hitler's main aim was to create an empire in the East and violently subjugate Europeans. Any connection between that and the EU is simply laughable," he said.
At a Remain event on Monday, Chancellor George Osborne was asked for his views on Mr Johnson's comments. He made reference to Lord Bramall and said: "I think he said what needed to be said about Boris Johnson."
'Historical parallels''Historical parallels'
But Tory Leave campaigner Jacob Rees-Mogg said Mr Johnson's comments were "absolutely true". But UKIP MEP Gerard Batten defended Mr Johnson's comments, arguing that Hitler's Germany had drawn up plans for a European economic community which, he said, proposed "harmonisation of European currencies and a harmonised currency system".
"If this all sounds all very familiar it is because the basic plan for the European Economic Community of 1942 was very similar to the actual European Economic Community that came into existence in 1957 under the Treaty of Rome."
Also coming to Mr Johnson's defence, Conservative Leave campaigner Jacob Rees-Mogg said the former London mayor's comments were "absolutely true".
He said Hitler and Napoleon "wanted to create a single European power... by force. And the EU is trying to do it by stealth."He said Hitler and Napoleon "wanted to create a single European power... by force. And the EU is trying to do it by stealth."
Former Conservative cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith told the BBC Mr Johnson's article was "rather good" and used "some historical parallels" to explain the concept of "greater Europe".Former Conservative cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith told the BBC Mr Johnson's article was "rather good" and used "some historical parallels" to explain the concept of "greater Europe".
"I think the whole process of trying to drive Europe together by force or by bureaucracy or whatever other means ultimately makes problems, and that's what he was saying.""I think the whole process of trying to drive Europe together by force or by bureaucracy or whatever other means ultimately makes problems, and that's what he was saying."
Conservative MP Chris Grayling said Mr Johnson's comparison represented the words of a "historian who was doing a piece of historical analysis".
He said: "If you look 10 years down the road, there are clear plans to create a federation in the eurozone that is going to dominate.
"It is going to look like a United States of Europe."
Meanwhile, Bank of England governor Mark Carney has defended his warning that a vote to leave the EU could spark a recession, saying he had "absolutely not" overstepped the mark.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who also backs Remain, told ITV's Peston on Sunday he wanted an EU that was "a unity of people of the left... collectively working for a better standard of living across Europe".
Asked how he and Mr Cameron could have such different views yet both support Remain, he said people should "listen to both of us and make up their minds".
But he said the two were unlikely to share a platform. "I don't think it would work," he said.
Mr Farage, who is due to take part in a debate with Mr Cameron, told Peston he could understand why the prime minister was unwilling to debate a pro-Brexit Conservative minister.
He said Mr Cameron feared "it could lead to divisions [in the Tory party] that could never be mended".
With less than six weeks to go until the vote, polls have put the Remain and Leave campaigns at roughly 50-50.