Fury as head of Remoaner campaign says quitting the EU is like appeasing Hitler
Lord Malloch-Brown claimed the experience of the 1930s proved it's a mistake for Britain to cut itself off from Europe
THE head of a Remoaner campaign group today sparked fury by comparing Brexit to the appeasement of Nazi Germany.
Lord Malloch-Brown claimed Britain was trying to "pull away from Europe's problems" like in the 1930s when Hitler came to power.
He is chairing Best for Britain, a group funded by billionaire George Soros devoted to securing a second referendum on EU membership.
The peer, a former top UN official, told the BBC that WW2 shows what happens when the UK cuts itself off from the continent.
He said: "Britain's history as an island nation adjacent to mainland Europe is when we try to, sort of, pull away from Europe's problems and close ourselves off to them they have a horrible habit of infecting us anyway.
"Appeasement in the 1930s, you name it. For centuries Britain has ignored events on continental Europe at its peril."
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen hit back at Lord Malloch-Brown, who was a minister under Gordon Brown.
He told The Sun: "What is it about Labour and their fixation with Hitler? You would have though that Lord Malloch-Brown would have learned from Ken Livingstone's example."
Businessman John Longworth, the head of Leave Means Leave, added: "This really is a crass comparison. The Remain campaign are completely opposed to the democratic EU referendum of 2016 and will do everything they can to spread fear about Brexit and mock the 17.4million people who voted to Leave."
The peer's comments came a day after Mr Soros made a speech claiming Britain had five years to stop Brexit.
The billionaire's involvement in the EU debate has been controversial because of his reputation as the "man who broke the Bank of England" by betting against the pound in 1992.
But Lord Malloch-Brown defended Mr Soros and consisted his past was "unrelated" to the anti-Brexit campaign.
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He said: "He broke the pound, not the Bank of England, I should say.
"He is someone who has devoted decades to an extraordinary global philanthropy which has fought for democracy and open values."
Best for Britain has put out a national advertising campaign aiming to change voters' minds on Brexit, as well as lobbying MPs directly.
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