Britain’s top prosecutor once called Boris Johnson a ‘traitor’ online after EU referendum
BRITAIN’S top prosecutor once branded Boris Johnson a “traitor”, it has emerged.
Max Hill QC wrote online just after the EU referendum that if Boris became Prime Minister, he hoped he would suffer the same fate as David Cameron had.
Then a leading barrister, he also encouraged people to sign a petition calling for a second vote on Brexit.
His outspoken comments could cause him problems if bookies’ favourite Mr Johnson wins the Tory leadership contest next month.
Mr Hill has already come under fire for claiming, while terror law watchdog in 2017, that some British jihadis were simply naïve and should not be prosecuted when they returned home disillusioned from fighting for ISIS.
Now it has emerged that he made critical comments about Leave campaign leader Mr Johnson days after Mr Cameron quit Downing Street over the shock referendum result.
Mr Hill wrote on Twitter in June 2016: “If Johnson prevails and becomes leader and PM, we must hope someone does to him what he did to Cameron. #traitorsarelosers”
On the same day he posted a link to a petition on the Parliament website, which called for a second referendum if the first result was close or based on a low turnout.
Mr Hill told his social media followers: “Sign this: anything is worth a try after this week...”
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The row comes as Mr Johnson faces court in a private prosecution brought by a campaigner who accuses the top Tory of making false promises in the referendum campaign.
A CPS spokesman said last night: “The tweet is a private matter as it pre-dates Max Hill’s appointment as Director of Public Prosecutions.
“The CPS has no involvement in the private prosecution involving Mr Johnson. If any private prosecution is referred to us, it is dealt with by specialist lawyers, not the DPP.”
Boris is Marmite
By Kate Ferguson, Westminster Correspondent
BORIS Johnson is a flop with swing voters and reminds Brits of Pinocchio, a polling guru yesterday revealed.
Tory peer Robert Hayward said the leadership frontrunner is a “marmite” character who could put the Tory election chances at risk.
He said the next Tory leader must win over Brexiteers but also swing voters who do not feel strongly about the EU, if they want to stay in No10.
Lord Hayward said: “Boris is pitching to MPs at the moment saying ‘I am the one who will win’.
“What I’m saying is that you can’t stop at Brexit and win an election. You need Brexit voters, but you need the transfer-friendly voters as well.”
He added: “The polls show that a Tory Prime Minister or leader can’t win without Brexiteer votes, but you also can’t win without this middle ground, the people who are looking for good government.”
Lord Hayward found that a whopping 23 per cent of people who voted Tory in 2017 think Mr Johnson would be a “very bad” Prime Minister.
And the pollster warned there is “distinct antipathy towards Boris” in the Tory heartlands of the Home Counties.
He added: “He is a classic Marmite politician.”
The shocking revelations are a massive blow for Mr Johnson, who is the bookies favourite to succeed Theresa May as the next PM.
His entire leadership pitch is hinged on the promise only he can win over swing voters and keep the Tories in power.
But Lord Hayward rubbished claims there is any such “Boris effect”.
He trawled through the small print of three recent surveys by Deltapoll, Opinium and YouGov.
The Deltapoll quizzed voters on what Disney character they associated with the leadership contenders.
One in five said Mr Johnson reminded them of Pinocchio – the lying fairy tale character whose nose grows each time he fibs.
The next most popular answers were Goofy and Dumbo.
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