Boris Johnson: Brexit promises from EU referendum will be delivered
2 min read
Boris Johnson was condemned today after insisting the Government would deliver on the promises made during the EU referendum campaign.
The Foreign Secretary has faced ridicule after he campaigned for Brexit by arguing the Government should spend £350m a week on the NHS instead of sending it to Brussels.
Remain campaigners have argued Leave voters were misled at the referendum into thinking the NHS would get the boost if Britain quit the EU.
But since joining Theresa May’s ministerial team after the historic vote to leave, Mr Johnson and fellow Brexit supporting ministers have shied away from the proposal.
Today he argued the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill – which gets its second reading today and will shift EU law onto the UK statute book – would give “certainty and confidence”.
He added: “We are going to come out of the penumbrae of the European Court of Justice, out of the single market, out of the customs union, we will take back control of our borders and indeed of the cash that we currently contribute.
“So the promises that were made to the British people will be honoured, the verdict they delivered on June 23 will be vindicated and carried through."
But Shadow Health Minister Justin Madders told PoliticsHome: "The Government's shambolic approach to Brexit is letting down people who voted to leave the EU.
“Throughout the referendum campaign Tory Cabinet ministers, led by Boris Johnson, promised that the NHS would get a £350m funding boost after Brexit.
“So far all the Government have delivered is increased waiting times, a staffing crisis and historically low levels of investment."
During the EU referendum campaign the UK’s statistics watchdog Andrew Dilnot said the Vote Leave claim about the money sent to Brussels was misleading and "undermines trust in official statistics”.
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