Johnson sorry for comparing Ukraine war to the Brexit vote

Chancellor Rishi Sunak defends Johnson, saying UK PM ‘categorically doesn’t think the two events are directly comparable’.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses delegates during the Conservative Party Spring Conference, in Blackpool, England. Picture: Getty

Rishi Sunak has distanced himself from Boris Johnson’s comparison of Ukraine’s resistance against Russia to Britain’s vote for Brexit.

The chancellor said that the two events were “clearly not comparable”. He was forced to speak on behalf of No 10 yesterday (Sunday) when he told a series of TV and radio interviews that the prime minister “doesn’t think that either”.

Johnson regrets making the comparison, a close source told The Times. “It sounded better written down than it did when spoken,” the insider said.

Sunak told Times Radio: “People will make up their own minds. But I can tell you categorically, the prime minister does not think that the situation in Ukraine and Brexit are directly comparable. Of course they’re not, no one would say that they are. He was making some general comments about freedom in different guises.”

But he refused to endorse the language that Johnson used. The prime minister told the Conservative Party spring conference in Blackpool on Saturday that President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine left the world facing a choice between freedom and oppression.

“I know that it’s the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom every time,” he said. “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.”

Simon Clarke, Sunak’s deputy as chief secretary to the Treasury, defended the remarks. He told ITV News: “The prime minister was making the perfectly fair point, which is that when people have the choice in their lives they want to uphold freedom of decision making.”

Donald Tusk, a former president of the European Council, said that Johnson’s “words offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense”.

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.

— Donald Tusk (@donaldtuskEPP) March 19, 2022

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said that Johnson should apologise for the “utterly distasteful” comments. “It is insulting to the Ukrainian people who are fighting for their very freedom and their very lives and it is insulting to the British people as well,” she told the Sophy Ridge on Sunday program on Sky News. “If the prime minister didn’t mean that analogy, he shouldn’t have made it and he should take back those words and apologise to the Ukrainian people and the British people for those crass remarks.”

Johnson was also criticised by Tory MPs and peers, including Lord Barwell, a former No 10 chief of staff.

The prime minister told The Sunday Times that he was open to the idea of visiting President Zelenksy in Kyiv to support him “in any way I can”.

He insisted, however, that he would only visit if it was “a useful way of showing my support” and would consider going only if he were invited by the president. The leaders of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia met Zelensky in Kyiv last week to show their “unequivocal” support for Ukraine.

Government sources said that Johnson visiting Kyiv was only a small possibility at this stage.

“It’s an idea,” the insiders said. “It’s something he would consider but at this stage it’s unlikely.”

The Times