MP Boris Johnson says ‘It’s not too late to save Brexit’ in resignation speech

LONDON: Boris Johnson paid tribute to Theresa May in his resignation statement to the House Of Commons but couldn’t resist a few more digs about her ‘dithering’ approach to Brexit.

He said that ‘a fog of self-doubt has descended’ over the negotiations.

He added that it is ‘Not too late to save Brexit,’ and added, ‘We must try to save Brexit because we will not get another chance’.

Read my personal statement to the House of Commons this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/Zy6klFWQsr

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 18, 2018

Mr. Johnson said that the UK should aim for the vision of ‘a strong independent, self-governing Britain’ set out at Lancaster House, not the ‘miserable, permanent limbo’ of Chequers.

Johnson said that last year at Lancaster House, Mrs. May said she would seek a ‘bold, ambitious and comprehensive’ free trade agreement with the EU outside the customs union and single market.

‘I thought it was the right vision then, I think so today,’ he said. But he said that since then, ‘a fog of self-doubt has descended’.

Johnson paid tribute to Theresa May for ‘her courage and her resilience’.

He said: ‘It was my privilege to collaborate with her in promoting Global Britain – a vision for this country which she set out with great clarity at Lancaster House last year.’

But Mr. Johnson said the government had ‘dithered’ over the Lancaster House strategy.

‘We never actually turned that vision into a negotiating position in Brussels and we never made it into a negotiating offer,’ he said.

‘Instead, we dithered and we burned through our negotiating capital. We agreed to hand over a £40 billion exit fee with no discussion of our future economic relationship.’