23 February,2016 09:09 AM IST | | Agencies
In a major blow to Prime Minister David Cameron, London Mayor and Conservative MP Boris Johnson yesterday said he would “throw his weight behind” a campaign to take Britain out of European Union
Boris Johnson
London: In a major blow to Prime Minister David Cameron, London Mayor and Conservative MP Boris Johnson yesterday said he would "throw his weight behind" a campaign to take Britain out of European Union.
Boris Johnson outside his home in London yesterday. Pic/AFP
Boris announced that he will campaign for a leave vote after concluding that Cameron's deal will not deliver the reformed EU he promised. His decision is a big blow to the prime minister who had pleaded with him to avoid "linking arms" with opposition Nigel Farage and George Galloway.
Speaking outside his home in north London, the mayor said his decision had been "agonisingly difficult". But he added: "I would like to see a new relationship based more on trade, on cooperation, with much less of this supranational element. I will be advocating Vote Leave or whatever the team is called, I understand there are a lot of them because I want a better deal for the people, to save them money and to take control."
A Downing Street spokesmen said, "Our message to everyone is we want Britain to have the best of both worlds: all the advantages of the jobs and investment that come with being in the EU, without the downsides of being in the euro and open borders."
