As the date for the In-Out referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU – on June 23 – looms, Johnson is stepping up his campaign to lead the UK out of Europe. During a visit to Nottingham, he told reporters:
"It's bit rich from those who said World War Three will break out if we leave the European Union and the economy will fall off a cliff. I'm concerned there is now so much talking down of the UK that it's positively counter-productive. It's ludicrous. The evidence for the Loch Ness Monster is considerably better than Treasury forecasts."
There have been conflicting forecasts of the effects of a Brexit, with the UK Chancellor George Osborne warning that within fifteen years of leaving the Single Market, Britain would suffer from at least US$290 billion (£200bn) less trade every year in today’s terms, and would miss out on at least £200 billion of overseas investment.
UK would miss out on at least £200 billion of overseas investment — meaning fewer jobs, lower incomes and higher prices
— George Osborne (@George_Osborne) May 16, 2016
Osborne said: "A vote to Leave the EU would be a one-way ticket to make Britain poorer and hurt working people. We’ve already heard the economic case from the likes of the Bank of England, the IMF, and even the President of the United States; all of our allies and trading partners are in agreement.
Johnson hit out after media claims that UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Osborne were persuading leading international figures and business leaders to issue dire warnings over the cost to the economy of a Brexit, during negotiations on reforms on the UK's membership of the EU.
Many business chiefs have joined, the International Monetary Fund and US President Obama of the dangers of leading the EU.
Banana Republic
"This is the biggest stitch up since the Bayeux Tapestry. It stinks to high heaven. FTSE 100 chiefs are seeing their pay packets soar while uncontrolled immigration is forcing down wages for British workers. It makes us look like a banana republic," Johnson said in a statement.
This is the biggest stitch up since the Bayeux Tapestry: https://t.co/IUCZV2vxEF
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) May 17, 2016
"And it is also now beyond doubt that the so-called renegotiation was a fiction designed to bamboozle the public. It was a meaningless mime, a ritual, a kabuki drama in which the outcome was utterly preordained. This is not the far-reaching and fundamental reform we were promised. The only safe way to take back control of our borders and our democracy is to Vote Leave on June 23," he said.
