Jamie Oliver says we should ‘get on with Brexit’ despite calling it a ‘really, really bad idea’

Chef Jamie Oliver in a kitchen in London. Photograph: Ian West/PA. - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

Jamie Oliver, who previously backed Remain, now says the UK should ‘get on with Brexit’ despite blaming it for why his business struggled.

Speaking at the end of the last year Oliver told the German Press Agency that he was really angry about it.

He said: “I’m angry about it and I’m embarrassed. “I was against Brexit from the beginning and I certainly did not vote in favour of it, I took a clear stand at the time and I think that it’s a really, really bad idea.”

The 44-year-old celebrity chef said that he was concerned about the continuation of good international trade relations and the impact on the food industry.

He had also previously blamed Brexit as a reason for his Italian restaurant chain struggling, shortly before it collapsed in the UK, despite success in other countries including Ireland.

He told the Financial Times: “Rents, rates, the high street declining, food costs, Brexit, increase in the minimum wage. There was a lot going on.”

Now Oliver says because he “believes in democracy” he wants Britain to “get on with it” – including a deal with America.

He told the Times: “We want to do business with America and I think as long as we can protect our standards we’re in a good place. If we’re just going to have all of our culture and standards destroyed in a race to the bottom, then I’ll do my best to stop that.”

He continued: “It is divisive and has split families and workplaces. My own family has been split over it.

“But I believe in democracy and I believe in moving on and we should get on with it.”