Boris fury at Vote Leave threat to oust Cameron
BORIS JOHNSON was left furious after his Vote Leave campaign suggested David Cameron would be forced from office in the event of a Brexit, it is understood.
Allies of Mr Johnson said he was “blindsided” by an “amateurish” attack on the Prime Minister by the campaign.
The split at the top of the Brexit campaign came after The Daily Telegraph disclosed that Mr Cameron will not take part in head-to-head debates with opponents but will instead appear on the same programme as Mr Farage.
Vote Leave issued a statement claim- ing that ITV had “lied” during negotiations, warning of “consequences” and added that “the people in No 10 won’t be there long”, in a clear suggestion that Mr Cameron would be forced from office in the event of a vote to leave the EU. Mr Johnson and Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, have always said that they want Mr Cameron to remain Prime Minister even if Britain votes to leave the EU. Mr Johnson said it was “complete nonsense” to suggest that the referendum would lead to a change in government.
He added: “I would much rather talk about the issues that matter to the people of the country and the great choice that we face in a few weeks’ time. The more we bang on about who is going to be talking to whom in the debate, the more people’s eyes will frankly glaze over.”
John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary and also a member of the Vote Leave campaign, said that Ofcom, the media watchdog, could now intervene to stop the debate because Mr Farage is not a member of the Vote Leave campaign and had been chosen as an opponent by Downing Street.
Mr Whittingdale said that it was “extraordinary” that ITV had bowed to the Prime Minister’s demands to debate Mr Farage instead of a Conservative minister backing the Brexit campaign.
He told Sky News: “The idea that the Prime Minister has attempted to tell ITV who they should invite or who they
should not invite seems to me extraordinary.”
Lord Grade, the former ITV chairman, accused those behind the comments of threatening ITV with “political repercussions” and called the remarks “unacceptable”.
It comes as Sir John Major, the former prime minister, today prepares to use a speech to say that “as the Leave arguments implode one by one, some of the Brexit leaders morph into Ukip” and “fuel prejudice”.
“We mustn’t overlook genuine concerns: but these should be expressed with care, honesty and balance,” he will say.