Brexit critic Emma Thompson quits Britain for Venice

Actress Emma Thompson joins Extinction Rebellion demonstrators at Oxford Circus in London. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA. - Credit: PA

Brexit critic Dame Emma Thompson has quit Britain for Europe after describing the country as ‘a tiny little cloud-bolted, rainy corner of sort-of Europe, a cake-filled misery-laden grey old island’.

The Oscar award-winning actress has moved to Italy with her acting husband Greg Wise in the wake of Brexit.

The Daily Mail reports they have registered as residents of Venice, where they own a house together, and are now getting Italian lessons.

Dame Emma has now been awarded honorary citizenship of the city, the “realisation of a dream she had cherished for years”.

She has been a strong opponent of Brexit, claiming that it was “mad” for Britain not to remain a part of the European Union.

“I feel European even though I live in Great Britain, and in Scotland,” she told reporters at the 2016 Berlin film festival.

“So of course I’m going to vote to stay in Europe, Oh my God, it would be madness not to. It would be a crazy idea not to. We should be taking down borders, not putting them up.”

The actress follows her Love Actually co-star Colin Firth in shunning the UK for Europe.

In 2017 he accepted honorary Italian citizenship. He said: “Brexit does not have a single positive aspect for me. Many colleagues, including Emma Thompson, are – like me – enthusiastic Europeans”.