Surprise! EU leaders tell us to have ANOTHER referendum

EU leaders sparked a backlash last night after calling for a second referendum to allow voters to ‘change their view’ on Brexit.

In separate interventions, the leaders of the Czech Republic and Malta urged Theresa May to drop her opposition to a second referendum.

Their comments prompted an angry response in the UK, with Mrs May responding: ‘There will be no second referendum.’

Maltese PM Joseph Muscat, who has been dogged by questions about a corruption scandal, claimed EU leaders were ‘almost unanimous’ in wanting Britain to change its mind.

Mr Muscat, a friend of Tony Blair, who is campaigning for a second Brexit referendum, said the UK public should have the chance to ‘put things in perspective’ before leaving in March next year.

‘There is a unanimous – or almost unanimous, I would say – point of view around the table that we would like the almost impossible to happen, that the UK has another referbut endum,’ he told the BBC. ‘That being said, I don’t know what the result would be, whether it would be any different from the first result.

‘I think most of us would welcome a situation where there is the possibility of the British people putting things into perspective, seeing what has been negotiated, seeing the options and then deciding once and for all.’

Czech PM Andrej Babis, seen as an ally of Mrs May, added: ‘We hope that finally we will reach a deal but basically I am very unhappy that the UK is leaving, so it would be better maybe to make another referendum and maybe the people in the meantime could change their view.’

The EU has a long history of ignoring inconvenient referendum results or forcing countries to vote again. The most famous example is Ireland’s rejection of the lisbon Treaty in 2008, which was overturned in a second referendum after intense pressure from Brussels.

But Mrs May has repeatedly said she will not countenance a second referendum – a message she repeated to EU leaders at a dinner in salzburg on Wednesday night.

Downing street yesterday pointed out the interventions from Mr Muscat and Mr Babis were recorded before the dinner with Mrs May. Asked about their comments, Mrs May said: ‘There have been voices talking about a second referendum, actually what is happening is that people are starting to recognise that this (Brexit) is going to happen and that we are going to leave on 29 March next year.’

Campaigners for a second referendum seized on the EU leaders’ comments. Eloise Todd, head of the group Best for Britain, which is campaigning for a so- called ‘people’s vote’, said: ‘ What’s clear is there is still time for the UK to check with the people if Brexit is what they still want – even EU leaders are now saying they would accommodate that if we wanted.’

But MPs on both sides of the Brexit debate said foreign leaders had no business interfering in the UK’s democratic processes.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the European Research Group of Tory MPs, said: ‘It is surprising that it has taken so long for member states to suggest a second referendum. The EU’s version of democracy is to demand voters keep on voting until they give the right answer.’

Henry Newman, of the think-tank Open Europe, said elements of the British establishment had been using diplomatic channels for months to spread the idea that Britain would eventually give way to pressure for a second referendum.

‘Very unhappy the UK is leaving’