Boris backs claims by Cameron’s pal Hilton – PM would vote Out

BORIS Johnson last night backed claims by David Cameron’s former policy chief that the Prime Minister was an instinctive Brexit supporter.

Steve Hilton – one of Mr Cameron’s closest friends in politics and godfather to his late son, Ivan – said the Prime Minister would be campaigning for Leave if he was not in No 10.

He said: ‘If he was a member of the public, or a backbench MP or a junior minister or even a Cabinet minister, I’m certain that he would be for Leave.

‘That’s his whole instinct. That’s who he is. As Prime Minister he sees it from a different perspective, and that’s perfectly reasonable – but I think that if he didn’t have that perspective he would be for Leave. He’s always been firmly Euroscep- tic.’ Mr Johnson, the former London mayor, said he agreed, adding: ‘ If I remember some of the discussions I have had over many years about the lack of democracy in the EU, that sounds to me like an accurate and fair reflection.’

Mr Hilton’s claim is likely to infuriate the PM and his team while they fight for Britain to vote to remain in the EU.

Earlier this week, Mr Hilton came out in favour of Brexit, saying that membership of the EU had made Britain ‘literally ungovernable’. He said wanted to Leave because he believed in ‘taking back power from arrogant, unaccountable, hubristic elites and putting it where it belongs, in people’s hands’.

Mr Hilton claimed that, in opposition, Mr Cameron’s team discussed embarking on a course that would mean Britain pulling out of the EU.

‘There was a strong constituency in the senior leadership and policy-making team for leaving the EU,’ he said.

‘I recall a meeting where we sat down and I remember saying: “Right, if our assumption is that we think it’s in Britain’s interest to leave the EU – and I think we’re all agreed about that option around this table – then we need to have a plan for how we make that a realistic part of our policy platform.” The intellectual basis for leaving the EU is there in all the arguments that we were making.’