Theresa May urged to ignore '3 Stooges' Johnson, Rees-Mogg and Farage by EU chief
1 min read
An EU commissioner has urged Theresa May to ignore the “Three Stooges” – Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage – while trying to hammer out her Brexit deal.
Phil Hogan also warned the PM there would be no deal if she insisted on sticking to her Chequers proposal.
Speaking in Ireland on Friday, Mr Hogan warned: “Don’t be misguided by those extremists riding the wrecking ball and calling for the EU’s disappearance.
“Don’t be misled by the rhetoric of Mr Johnson, Mr Farage and Mr Rees-Mogg.
“They like to see themselves as the Three Musketeers. They are more like the Three Stooges.”
He added: “If the UK attitude is Chequers and only Chequers, there will be no agreement before March next year on the future trade relationship.”
Mr Hogan, who has close relations with the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said the EU would not damage its “greatest achievement” of the internal market “just to save the UK from the consequences of its own silliness”.
The warning came as the People’s Vote campaign for a second EU referendum gathered pace.
The GMB trade union backed calls for a second vote earlier this week.
While Labour backbencher Chuka Umunna called on party leader Jeremy Corbyn to “call off the dogs” and work to reverse Brexit.
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe