Theresa May launches searing attack on Tony Blair over calls for second Brexit vote
2 min read
Theresa May has launched a stinging attack on former Prime Minister Tony Blair over his calls for a second referendum on Brexit.
The Prime Minister said comments by her predecessor this week were an “insult to the office he once held” and accused him of “undermining” the Brexit talks.
It comes after the Labour ex-leader said a new referendum was the logical conclusion of the Brexit impasse and that MPs were likely to back a fresh vote if “none of the other options work”.
He made the comments amid a deadlock in parliament - with MPs refusing to back the deal Mrs May clinched with Brussels and the EU refusing to re-open talks.
But the Prime Minister has insisted the Government will not be going back to the public on the issue, and she issued a withering rebuke to Mr Blair in a bid to silence him.
“For Tony Blair to go to Brussels and seek to undermine our negotiations by advocating for a second referendum is an insult to the office he once held and the people he once served,” she fumed.
“We cannot, as he would, abdicate responsibility for this decision. Parliament has a democratic duty to deliver what the British people voted for.”
Mrs May added that there were “too many people who want to subvert the process for their own political interests - rather than acting in the national interest”.
It comes amid reports senior allies of the Prime Minister have been war-gaming the process for triggering a second referendum behind her back.
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