Femi Oluwole reveals he nearly backed Brexit campaign

Femi Oluwole of our Future Our Choice. Photograph: OFOC. - Credit: Archant

The anti-Brexit campaigner has revealed to a British newspaper that his support for the Remain campaign was almost turned during the 2016 European Union referendum.

Oluwole’s told the Express support was almost swayed by the big red bus claiming that an extra £350 million could be spent on the NHS.

Asked about which argument had him sway in his conviction, Oluwole said: “If you go back to 2016 – the bus. I always say that bus nearly floored me.

“I studied EU law in two universities, two different languages and even me, seeing what we send – £350 million a week – to the EU had me think ‘wait, hang on, am I even on the right side?’

“That argument, because it went straight to the heart of one thing the British people really care about, was quite convincing.”

Despite a rebuking from the then chair of the statistics authority, Johnson continued to make the claim that EU membership cost £350 million a week and that it could be better spent on the NHS.

After becoming prime minister he downgraded that figure to £250 million a week, but he claimed if we stayed in the EU we would pay even more.

Even the £250m figure – which works out at 30p per person per day – does not take into account the billions each year the UK receives back through schemes to fund poorer areas and farmers.

A court case even tried to get the prime minister and former foreign secretary imprisoned for telling lies about the true cost, but a judge threw the case out arguing it was not something for the courts to decide.