Britain ‘better off’ staying in EU

Damian Green has said Britain would be better off staying in the European Union.

The 61-year-old Tory told BBC’s Newsnight programme that no one fought harder for Remain than him.

His comments last week came just hours after Prime Minister Theresa May repeatedly refused to say how she would vote in a second referendum.

Mr Green was a prominent campaigner for Remain alongside the Prime Minister during the 2016 referendum.

When asked by journalist Emily Maitlis on Newsnight whether it would have been better if the UK had opted to stay in the EU, he said “it would have been”.

He added: “I was on the board of the Stronger In campaign – no one fought harder than me for Remain – so I don’t resile from my views.

“The public took their view, I’m a democrat, I believe that if people have spoken it is the job of democratic politicians to do their best to put in place what people wanted.”

Mrs May was asked in an LBC radio interview if she would change her mind if asked to vote again but said there was no point asking how she would vote now, saying: “I voted Remain for good reasons at the time but circumstances move on and I think the important thing now is that we should all be focused on delivering Brexit and delivering the best deal.

“You are asking me to say, ‘How would I vote now’, against a different background, a different international background, a different economic background.”

When pressured by presenter Iain Dale to give an answer, she said: “What I did last time round was I looked at everything and came to a judgement and I’d do exactly the same this time but we are not having another referendum and that’s crucial.”

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