Labour’s Emily Thornberry has accused her pro-EU colleagues of ‘dishonesty’ in Brexit civil war
She compared her colleagues to hardline Tory Eurosceptics
LABOUR plunged deeper into a Brexit civil war as Emily Thornberry attacked pro-EU colleagues of “dishonesty”.
The Shadow Foreign Secretary tore into backbenchers such as Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie – amid claims they are hatching plans for a new party called “Back Together”.
She said the pair and other Labour MPs pushing for Britain to adopt a Norway-style EU membership should be honest and say they just want to stop Brexit altogether. And she compared them to hardline Tory Eurosceptics – who she claimed should be honest and admit they want to “crash out” of the EU altogether.
Speaking at a Press Gallery lunch in the Commons, she said: “The truth is that neither group actually cares what kind of deal we get, and neither is genuinely interested in honest debate.
“On one side they would like simply to crash out without a deal, and on the other their real driving mission is simply to reverse the democratic decision of the referendum.”
She added: “What I’d say to both groups is that if that’s how you feel, why not be honest and simply say so rather than waste everyone’s time. Because when we get to March 2019, and there’s either no deal or a bad deal on the table, we will all look back and say – as a government or as a country – ‘we had three years to get this right, why on earth did we waste so much of it?’”.
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The Labour frontbencher separately accused Theresa May of misleading voters by claiming a ‘Brexit dividend’ would help fund the NHS. She said she was now opposed to the legalisation of cannabis and that there were “strong arguments” for the next Labour leader to be a woman.
A source at the People’s Vote campaign, which is calling for a referendum on the final Brexit deal, said: “Emily Thornberry has some cheek accusing politicians of touting ideas for the Northern Ireland border that won’t work because that is exactly what she has been doing for two years now.
“Being in a customs union is necessary to avoid a hard border in Ireland, but it’s not sufficient and she must know that.”
MP slams England flag ban
LABOUR’s Emily Thornberry finally buried her White Van shame yesterday by urging bosses to let England fans fly the flag during the World Cup.
The Shadow Foreign Secretary was booted out of Ed Miliband’s top team four years ago after publicly mocking supporter Dan Ware for covering his flat with the St George’s cross.
But she insisted there was “nothing wrong” with fans putting flags out. And she urged the Royal Mail to go back on a ban slapped on posties wanting to put flags on their cars.
The MP for Islington, north London, separately called on the PM to given the nation a Bank Holiday if Gareth Southgate’s team reach the final in Russia.
She said: “We do get lots of flags out and there’s nothing wrong with that.
“Obviously in Islington it’s not only lots of English flags but lots others too.
“If it’s true about Royal Mail, I do hope that they reconsider.”