Jeremy Hunt compares EU to Soviet Union 'prison' and warns other countries could leave
3 min read
Jeremy Hunt today compared the EU to the brutal Soviet Union as he warned the bloc not to turn itself into "a prison".
The Foreign Secretary said the "lesson from history" showed that attempting to punish the UK for leaving would only spur other member states to follow suit.
Mr Hunt also called for unity among warring Conservatives as the party was plunged into a fresh round of infighting over Brexit.
He took aim at the EU in a speech to the Tory party conference in Birmingham in which he even quoted Margaret Thatcher and was widely seen as a leadership pitch.
Addressing the EU directly, Mr Hunt - who campaigned for Remain in the referendum - said: "At the moment you seem to think the way to keep the club together is to punish a member who leaves.
"Not just with economic disruption. But even by breaking up the United Kingdom with a border down the Irish Sea.
"What happened to the confidence and ideals of the European dream? The EU was set up to protect freedom. It was the Soviet Union that stopped people leaving.
"The lesson from history is clear: if you turn the EU club into a prison, the desire to get out won’t diminish it will grow and we won’t be the only prisoner that will want to escape."
He added: “If you reject the hand of friendship offered by our Prime Minister, you turn your back on the partnership that has given Europe more security, more freedom and more opportunities than ever in history.
"And a setback for the EU will become a wholly avoidable tragedy for Europe."
Echoing Mrs Thatcher, he added: "We understand the EU wants to protect itself. But if the only way to deal with the UK leaving is to try to force its break up, as someone much more distinguished than me once said, the answer is 'No No No'."
Mr Hunt's comments came as prominent Tories laid into Boris Johnson over his latest broadside at the Brexit plan put forward by Mrs May.
The ex-Cabinet heavyweight was mocked and condemned by his former top table colleagues after he called the so-called Chequers blueprint “deranged”.
But Mr Hunt told the Tory faithful: “We can only unite the country if we are united ourselves. In parliament. In the Government. And in the Cabinet.”
He added: “Never forget that disunity and division won’t give us a better Brexit but the wrong Brexit, a Corbyn Brexit or perhaps no Brexit at all.”
CRASS
Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, of the pro-EU Best For Britain campaign, said: "Today we see Jeremy Hunt making wild and crass comments about the EU. Comparing it to the USSR is just downright offensive. He seems to have taken Boris' job and his outlandish jibes.
"Jeremy, in 2016, argued for a further vote on the deal because it was right for the people, today though he is just another of the Tory cats fighting in the sack thinking about what might help his career.
"The third rate Thatcher tribute act might go down well in the hall but outside people will look at him as a fifth rate Boris impersonator."
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