Hunt told to ‘read a history book’ after Soviet jail jibe

JEREMY Hunt faced a backlash from European leaders last night after comparing the EU to a Soviet jail.

Brussels officials told the Foreign Secretary he should ‘read a history book’ to learn how Communist rule was a ‘dark period’.

In his speech to conference on Sunday, Mr Hunt attacked those in Brussels who believe ‘the way to keep the club together is to punish a member who leaves’.

He added: ‘The EU was set up to protect freedom. It was the Soviet Union who stopped people leaving. If you turn the EU into a prison, the desire to get out won’t diminish, it will grow, and we won’t be the only prisoner who wants to escape.’

The EU Commission’s chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas said: ‘I would say respectfully that we would all benefit, in particular foreign affairs ministers, from opening a history book from time to time. I do not have a book to recommend, but I think there is a lot of literature covering this dark period.’

European Parliament chief negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said: ‘Offensive and outrageous comments by Mr Hunt, especially to those millions of Europeans who lived under Soviet occupation.’

Peter Ricketts, the former Foreign Office permanent secretary, said: ‘This rubbish is unworthy of a British Foreign Secretary.’

Last night, a source close to Mr Hunt said any ‘sensible reading’ of the speech made clear the EU ‘is not the Soviet Union’.