Bremoaner Heseltine in World War Two jibe
Germans lost war but ‘could win peace’ in Europe
LORD Heseltine angered Leave campaigners yesterday by suggesting that Brexit is a betrayal of the troops who won the Second World War.
The Conservative peer and arch-Europhile claimed leaving the EU will diminish our influence and mean Germany ‘wins the peace’ in Europe.
Pro-Brexit MPs demanded an apology. Peter Bone said: ‘They are very sad comments from someone who is driven by bitterness. I think if he sits down and sensibly thinks about his remarks he will quickly want to apologise for them.’
He added: ‘It is so inappropriate that anyone who reads it will be appalled.’
In an interview with The House magazine, Lord Heseltine said it was ‘quite unacceptable’ that Germany would be in a dominant position in Europe having lost the war.
The Tory grandee was sacked by Theresa May from a string of government advisory jobs after backing an amendment to Article 50 in the House of Lords.
He insisted he would continue working to avert the ‘disaster’ of Brexit. He said: ‘We’ve now aban- doned the opportunity to influence Europe, the council of ministers will meet and we won’t be there. Our ability to speak for the Commonwealth within Europe has come to an end. The Americans will shift their focus of interest to Germany.
‘And if I can put it to you, for someone like myself, it was in 1933, the year of my birth, that Hitler was democratically elected in Germany. He unleashed the most horrendous war.
‘This country played a unique role in securing his defeat. So Germany lost the war. We’ve just handed them the opportunity to win the peace.’ He added: ‘I find that quite unacceptable.’
The pro- EU politician also attacked Theresa May for backing Remain during the referendum campaign and then accepting the result of the vote.
Comparing Mrs May to former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Lord Heseltine said: ‘I remember, echoing down the corridors of history, “You turn if you want to; the lady is not for turning”. This lady was for turning.’
He added: ‘I don’t know how someone who made that speech can within a few weeks say “Brexit is Brexit” and ask the nation to unite behind it. The old saying is “if the facts change, I change my mind”, but they are not changing and I don’t see the slightest chance of them changing.’
He suggested he would like George Osborne to be prime minister in the future. Asked whether the former chancellor is capable of making a return to frontline politics, he said: ‘I think he is and I think he should. He was an exceptional chancellor. He imposed policy objectives which were not natural to them.’
Meanwhile on another Brexit battlefront, the Bank of England is at loggerheads with its former governor Mervyn King over his upbeat comments about the effects of leaving on the economy.
Lord King, who ran the central bank between 2003 and 2013, said the vote to quit the EU has had ‘rather little impact on the economy’. He described the fall in the value of sterling as ‘a welcome change’ given the pound was ‘overvalued’ before the referendum.
But, in what was seen as a sign of growing irritation at the bank over Lord King’s comments, deputy governor Ben Broadbent gave a far gloomier outlook.
Mr Broadbent said British exporters are benefiting from the fall in the pound but added: ‘It’s not clear how long the sweet spot will last.’ He said the pound fell ‘for a reason’ and pointed to concerns over Britain’s future trading relations with Europe. ‘In the eyes of the market, leaving the EU will make exporting harder and more costly,’ he added.
Brexit was a ‘failure and tragedy’ for the EU that could serve as a death knell for the fragile bloc, the European Commission president admitted yesterday.
Jean-Claude Juncker added he would be ‘sad’ when Brexit is formally triggered but still demanded the UK pay a £52billion ‘divorce bill’ to secure a trade deal with the EU.