Boris Johnson warns Russia could ‘hack our General Election’ after French and US campaigns were targeted
Foreign secretary also insists UK should get a Brexit refund and slammed Brussels chiefs for 'trying it on'
RUSSIAN attempts to hack our General Election are a “realistic possibility”, Boris Johnson warned last night.
The Foreign Secretary said Vladimir Putin was to blame for cyber attacks on the US and French elections in an effort to “undermine faith in democracy altogether”.
Mr Johnson told The Daily Telegraph: “We have to be vigilant.”
Asked if Mr Putin would interfere to help Labour, he said: “Putin would rejoice to see British defences weakened, Britain’s foreign policy become less active, to see us detached from the United States.”
He also blasted Brussels chiefs for “trying it on” and wanting to “bleed this country white” with Brexit bill demands, suggesting the UK should get a refund instead.
Meanwhile Boris declared Brussels could refund Britain when we quit the EU as he accused EU chiefs of "trying it on" and wanting to “bleed this country white” over Brexit.
The Foreign Secretary insisted there were valid reasons for the EU to cough up as he compared Brexit doomsayers to the baseless fears over the Millennium bug back in 1999.
Mr Johnson highlighted Britain's hefty contributions to numerous EU assets as he branded the current bill floated of £80 billion as "absurd".
He said: "We could definitely walk away [without paying]. Theresa May is right, no deal is better than a bad deal and some of the anxiety that I’ve read about the consequences of failing to get the deal remind me of the panic that led up to the turn of the millennium, the so-called millennium bug.
"This is pure millennium bug stuff.
“There are assets, I don’t want to get too much into the detail of the negotiation but there are assets that we share, that we have paid for over the years and there will need to be a proper computation of the value of those assets. I certainly think the bill that’s been presented at the moment is absurd.”
But emphasising how tough the talks will be - he warned having Jeremy Corbyn as PM would be calamitous.
He said: “We have seen already from the shameful way they treated the Number 10 dinner that Brussels is ruthless in its negotiating techniques. They are going to play dirty. We have got to be very wary and intellectually very firm.
“They’re trying it on. They are trying us high, they will have to be seen off.
“They are going to try to bleed this country white with their bill. The logic behind this bill is absolutely preposterous - the idea that we should be on the hook for our share of every Commission press release that’s ever been issued in announcing multi-billion pound payments to prawn fishing in Yucatan or whatever, that is not reasonable.”
Citing the classic Eagles song he added: “Jean-Claude Juncker thinks it’s the Hotel California where you can check out but you can never leave. He is wrong.
“I find it absolutely spine-chilling to think that those negotiators could find themselves opposite Jeremy Corbyn. I’m literally struggling to imagine what would happen, and I think he is struggling to imagine what would happen. I don’t think he has the faintest idea how he would deliver it.”