London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said he will discuss blocking Brexit with the European Union’s (EU) chief Brexit negotiator ahead of a trip to Brussels Friday.
More Londoners voted to leave the bloc than for the left-wing Mayor, and Mr Khan was slammed for ignoring London’s local problems as he jets off for talks with foreign leaders.
He said it was “important” to discuss with EU boss Barnier the “real possibility” of a Brexit deal being voted down in Westminister and the “option of staying in the EU” in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He said: “There is a possibility, a real possibility, of our Parliament rejecting the deal negotiated by our Prime Minister.
“There is a real possibility of our Parliament voting for a general election or voting for the British people to have a say on the options negotiated by the Prime Minister with the option of staying in the EU.
“It is important for Michel Barnier and important for the EU to hear that perspective, as well.”
Leading Labour Brexiteer Kate Hoey MP slammed the Mayor Thursday night, saying she wished Mr Khan “would spend less time rubbishing the referendum result” and more time addressing housing concerns in London.
Last weekend, Mr Khan was the opening speaker at the so-called “People’s Vote March”, demanding a second referendum to block Brexit.
Explaining the aims for his meeting in Brussels Friday, he said: “I’d make this point to Michel Barnier when I meet with him: that I think a bad Brexit deal, or even worse a no deal, is not something that is just going to be bad for London and the UK but will be bad for Europe as well.”
The Mayor also argued Brexit will lead to thousands of jobs leaving London, a claim dubbed “Project Fear Two” despite millions of jobs created and unemployment falling to a record low since the vote to leave the bloc.
“These jobs that may leave our country I think are not going to go to Paris, Brussels Frankfurt, Madrid,” Mr Khan claimed.
“They are going to New York, Singapore, and Hong Kong… There seems to be a false choice now: a no deal or a bad Brexit deal.”
View this post on Instagram
The Mayor has also been pushing a social media campaign called “London is Open” which is linked to Brexit and implies EU migrants are threatened by the divorce from the EU.
Prime Minister Theresa May has explicitly promised that no EU migrants will be asked to leave after Brexit, even if other EU nations ask Brits to leave EU countries.
Defending his trip to Brussels, Mr Khan said: “We are entering a crunch time in these Brexit negotiations and I am aware that Barnier this month met a delegation from the European Research Group [of Eurosceptic Tory parliamentarians], Iain Duncan Smith, Owen Paterson, Lord Trimble, and he has also met Arlene Foster from the DUP.
“And I am keen for him to hear a different perspective.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.