WATCH David Cameron: Brexit vote has turned out less badly than we thought
3 min read
David Cameron has admitted that Brexit has “turned out less badly” than he thought it would.
The former Prime Minister was caught on camera revealing his true feelings in a conversation with steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
In a marked softening of his pre-referendum tone, he also said the vote to leave the EU had been "a mistake, not a disaster".
In the footage, which was captured by Channel 5, Mr Mittal tells him “everyone is talking about Brexit".
Mr Cameron replies: "Yes, well I know. It’s frustrating. As I keep saying, it’s a mistake not a disaster. It’s turned out less badly than we first thought. But it’s….still going to be difficult.”
Since leaving office Mr Cameron has taken on a number of new roles and is currently writing his memoirs, but has largely steered clear of commenting on the British political scene.
In December 2016 he told students at DePauw University in Indiana, America that he had been a victim of populism brought on by “unhappiness and concern about the state of the world”.
“I think you could see that in the British vote ... was a mixture of economics and cultural arguments; I think your situation [in the US] was quite similar; I think in Italy it’s more connected with the euro.”
His comments at the World Economic Forum come after a flurry of activity from Remain supporters in favour of a second referendum.
On Sunday, the CBI called for the UK to remain in the customs union if it wanted to keep frictionless trade.
The organisation's director general, Carolyn Fairbairn, criticised the “lack of clarity” about where Brexit negotiations were headed and what the long-term economic costs would be.
Appearing at Brexit Select Committee this morning, David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, was forced to deny the UK would become a “lackey” of the EU after it had left.
Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, who chairs the European Reform Group of Tory MPs, said the Government risked turning Britain into a "vassal state" if it continued to accept EU rules during the two-year transition period.
However, Mr Davis argued the said one “massive difference” was that the UK would be able to forge international trade deals, ready to sign once it quits the bloc.
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