Boris Johnson faces fury after comparing Ukraine's fight against Russian invaders to Brexit

'People can make up their own minds': Rishi Sunak distances himself from Boris Johnson as the PM faces fury for likening Brexit vote to struggle of Ukrainians battling Putin's invaders

• Chancellor offered only a tepid defence of the PM's speech to the party faithful
• PM said it is the 'instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom', with the Brexit vote a 'famous recent example'
• Donald Tusk said comments 'offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense'

By DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 18:57 AEDT, 20 March 2022 | UPDATED: 20:41 AEDT, 20 March 2022

 

Rishi Sunak distanced himself from Boris Johnson today as the Prime Minister faced anger for comparing Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion to the UK's Brexit vote.

The Chancellor offered only a tepid defence of the PM's speech to the party faithful at the Conservative Spring Conference in Blackpool, saying people could 'make up their own minds'.

Addressing the event yesterday the Prime Minister said it is the 'instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom', with the Brexit vote a 'famous recent example'.

 

 

It prompted a furious backlash from senior Tories and EU officials for drawing a comparison between the vote and a war that has left more than 13,000 dead in three weeks of fighting.

Asked about the comments on Sky News's Ridge on Sunday, Mr Sunak said: 'No, I don't think those two situations are directly analogous.

'Clearly they are not directly analogous and I don't think the Prime Minister was saying that they were directly analogous either.'

Mr Sunak added: 'People will draw their own conclusions. People can make up their own minds.'

Former European Council president Donald Tusk, who fought Russian backed-Communism in Cold War Poland, said the Prime Minister's words 'offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense'.

And senior backbench Tory Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the Defence Committee, said the comparison 'damages the standard of statecraft' being exhibited in the response to the invasion.

 

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Senior Tories and EU officials were among those who criticised the remarks made in a speech to the part faithful at the Conservative Spring Conference in Blackpool.

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The Chancellor offered only a tepid defence of the PM's speech to the party faithful at the Conservative Spring Conference in Blackpool, saying people could 'make up their own minds'.

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A local resident walks past a Russian tank in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. UN estimates say 13,000 people have been killed in three weeks of fighting in Ukraine.

 

 

In a Twitter comment - which was retweeted by France's ambassador to the UK Catherine Colonna - Mr Ellwood said: 'If we are to ultimately defeat Putin we require international leadership and unity.'

The comparison was criticised by Tory peer Lord Barwell, who pointed out Ukraine is seeking to join the European Union.

There was also a rebuke from senior French diplomats, including the country's ambassador in the UK.

Philippe Errera, the political director at the French foreign ministry, said: 'If I were Ukrainian, I would feel insulted. If I were British, I would feel ashamed. As a French diplomat,I will not comment on twitter...'

Ms Colonna responded: 'As the French Ambassador in the UK, I will not either.'

In his speech, Mr Johnson said: 'I know that it's the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom, every time.

'I can give you a couple of famous recent examples.

'When the British people voted for Brexit in such large, large numbers, I don't believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners. It's because they wanted to be free to do things differently and for this country to be able to run itself.'

 

The other example given by the Prime Minister was the British people's willingness to voluntarily get vaccinated against Covid-19 because they 'wanted to get on with their lives' and 'were fed up with being told what to do by people like me'.

Lord Barwell, who served as Theresa May's chief of staff in Number 10, said voting in the 2016 referendum 'isn't in any way comparable with risking your life' in a war with Vladimir Putin's forces.

Writing on Twitter, he said: 'Apart from the bit where voting in a free and fair referendum isn't in any way comparable with risking your life to defend your country against invasion + the awkward fact the Ukrainians are fighting for the freedom to join the EU, this comparison is bang on.'

Mr Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who was leader of the European Council during the bitter process of the UK's exit, said: 'Boris Johnson likens Ukrainians' fight to British people voting for Brexit.

'I can still remember the enthusiasm of Putin and Trump after the referendum. Boris, your words offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense.'

Former Belgian prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt, another leading critic of Brexit in Brussels, said the comparison was 'insane'.

Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, said the Prime Minister 'is a national embarrassment', adding: 'To compare a referendum to women and children fleeing Putin's bombs is an insult to every Ukrainian.

'He is no Churchill. He is Basil Fawlty.'

SNP Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, said: 'Boris Johnson's comments comparing Ukraine's life-threatening situation with Brexit was crass and distasteful, and shows just how dangerously obsessed the Tories are with Brexit.'

 

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Boris Johnson faces fury after comparing Ukraine's fight against Russian invaders to Brexit