New bid to halt Brexit – by the same old faces
Mandelson, Straw’s son and brother of Home Secretary who led pro-EU ‘Stronger In’ group are back – as ‘Open Europe’
LORD Mandelson and the millionaire City public relations man Roland Rudd were last revealed as the two figures masterminding the campaign to frustrate Brexit.
The two arch-europhiles are pulling the strings of the Open Britain campaign group, which is demanding that MPs have a new vote on Britain leaving the EU.
The organisation – described as a band of ‘fifth columnists’ by Leave MPs last night – does not reveal the names of its board on its website.
But records from Companies House show Lord Mandelson and his close friend Mr Rudd both hold key roles. Both men previously tried to drag Britain into the euro and were prominent figures in the failed Remain referendum campaign.
Open Britain claims it is anti-democratic for the House of Commons to denied a vote on implementing Brexit. MPs pointed out
‘Fighting the same battles all over again’
the irony that two of the group’s main backers were themselves unelected.
Open Britain has issued a series of apocalyptic warnings about the dangers of what it calls ‘hard Brexit’.
Last week, it released a statement by the Tory MP Anna Soubry which said: ‘The horrific damage of a hard Brexit is clear. Less tax revenue means less to invest in schools and hospitals, lower trade and investment means businesses and jobs at risk.’
The group is also co-ordinating attempts by Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and other proEU MPs to force a Parliamentary vote on the terms of the Brexit negotiations. They are demanding that the UK stays inside the single market.
Critics say this amounts to an attempt to keep Britain in the EU by the backdoor.
Brussels has said that, if the UK wants to stay inside the single market, it must continue to allow free movement of migrant workers and take orders from the European Court of Justice.
Open Britain’s Companies House records reveal it is in effect a rebranding of the failed Britain Stronger In Europe campaign, which fought and lost the June 23 vote. Lord Mandelson, nicknamed the Prince of Darkness, invented the art of modern political spin and was a key ally of Tony Blair. But he was twice sacked as a cabinet minister, before becoming Britain’s unelected EU commissioner.
Mr Rudd, the founder and chairman of the public relations firm Finsbury, is the brother of Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
Other board members who were prominent in BSE include Will Straw, who is the son of former home secretary Jack Straw and was awarded a CBE for running the Stronger In campaign; Joe Carberry, the co-executive director of Open Britain who is Lord Mandelson’s godson; and James McGrory, coexecutive director for Stronger In, and a former Lib Dem spin doctor.
The board also includes TV presenter June Sarpong, who made her name on youth programmes; Richard Reed, one of the co-founders of the Innocent smoothie brand; and Trevor Phillips, former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Former Cabinet minister and Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘They are a kind of fifth column of people whose sole purpose is to delay the process to the point where they think we will not actually leave.’
‘These people are fighting the same battles all over again because they do not like the result.’
Tory MP Charlie Elphicke added: ‘Open Britain appears to simply be the Stronger In campaign with a changed name plate. It is clear that they have not accepted the decision of the British people.’ The group has yet to publish records saying where its funding is coming from.
Last night, a spokesman for Open Britain said: ‘The campaign respects the result of the referendum. The country has voted to leave the European Union but the terms on which we leave are going to be the subject of much debate for some time to come.
‘We are campaigning for the best deal possible for Britain in the negotiations with the EU.’
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