Labour MP David Lammy brands Boris Johnson ‘a vandal not a patriot’
Labour's MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, in the House of Commons. Photograph: PA. - Credit: PA Archive/PA Images
Shadow justice secretary David Lammy has branded Boris Johnson and his cohort of Brexiteers 'vandals' rather than 'patriots'.
The Labour MP was speaking out after reports that Johnson's government is looking to renege on commitments made to the EU over Brexit.
The prime minister is reportedly planning new legislation that would override key parts of the agreement – the treaty that sealed Britain's exit from the EU in January – in a move that could risk collapsing the UK-EU trade talks.
Pro-EU politician Lammy said that tied with his failures over coronavirus and the government's avoidance of scrutiny the Tory leader was far from the 'patriot' he wants to be seen as.
He tweeted: 'Boris Johnson's government wants to break its international commitments on Northern Ireland, avoid scrutiny over its covid-19 failures, and trash the power of the public to challenge its decisions in court.
'They call themselves patriots, but they are vandalising our country.'
You may also want to watch:
Twitter users applauded the remarks, broadly responding in agreement.
'The Tory government under Boris Johnson will clearly not be content until they have reduced the UK to junk status,' tweeted David Noble. 'It beggars belief how quickly they've run our once widely respected kingdom down.'
Most Read
- 1 Pro-Brexit fishing campaigner says Boris Johnson's deal has left her with 'no fish'
- 2 European parliament agrees to add British overseas territories to post-Brexit tax haven blacklist
- 3 Boris Johnson to visit Scotland this week in attempt to shore up the union
- 4 Telegraph columnist blames Angela Merkel for Brexit
- 5 Minister terminates interview after suggesting public's age and weight to blame for UK's high death toll
- 6 This picture of Boris Johnson on the phone to Joe Biden has caused a stir
- 7 Petition launched to cancel 'festival of Brexit' event in 2022
- 8 Brussels to launch campaign teaching younger Britons about the EU
- 9 Brexiteer calls for UK to save Eurostar - by buying it and renaming it 'Britstar'
- 10 Tory minister admits UK rejected EU's music visa offer in order to 'take back control' of borders
'The only way we can stand alone and proud with some authority is by showing integrity and reliability,' responded Sonia Hartman. 'This clique are vandals indeed'.
'The biggest Tory lie is that Boris Johnson is a patriot,' said @boskybits. 'He doesn't care about anything other than power and money for him and his American, Russian, corporate mates. He is happy to risk British lives along the way.'
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.