Exclusive
Brexit is currently a 'nine out of ten' and it 'saved lives', Boris Johnson tells LBC
8 October 2024, 07:07 | Updated: 8 October 2024, 08:58
Brexit is currently a "nine out of ten", Boris Johnson has told LBC.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Mr Johnson insisted that Brexit was a "great thing".
"It’s 10/10 for constitutional purity. In terms of delivering yet for the country, clearly it’s going to take time before it delivers on its potential," he said.
"I’d give it 10/10 for what it enabled us to do during the pandemic and that was the biggest problem I had during my time in government."
He went on to say: "I think the problem is not with the decision itself, it’s not even with the implementation of the decision, the problem is with the use we make of it right now and the championing of Brexit."
- Listen on Tuesday from 7am to hear Nick's full conversation with Boris Johnson.
- You can listen live to LBC and catch up on any shows you missed, on Global Player.
Boris Johnson joins Nick Ferrari | Watch the full interview
Read more: Tories had 'outbreak of irrationality when they got rid of me as PM', Boris Johnson says
When pushed to rate the current state of Brexit, Mr Johnson said he believed it was better than a three or four.
He then agree that he felt it was currently a 9/10.
"Things like AUKUS, things like the Ukraine policy, a lot of the things we’re now able to do on biosciences or financial services… Britain can do things differently now that we couldn’t do before and that is a great, great thing," the former PM said.
"We also have the power to control our borders plus we have taken back a lot of cash that was being spent by the EU."
Mr Johnson says in his new book, Unleashed, that there are "a host of issues where, given the chance, [Macron] would not hesitate to put his Cuban-heeled bootee into Brexit Britain".
He says that the French president saw Brexit as a "a terrible snub to the EU and to his view of the world" as negotiations over the UK's withdrawal from the bloc continued.
Boris Johnson's memoir Unleashed is out on October 10.
It became clear he "really meant it when he said Brexit Britain must be punished", he says.
It comes after Keir Starmer recently promised a "pragmatic, sensible" approach to the UK-EU relationship in order to "make Brexit work" during talks in Brussels.
He met European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, saying he was determined to put the relationship with Brussels on a "stable, positive footing".
Sir Keir has been pushing for a better trading relationship and greater co-operation on defence and security measures as part of a drive to "reset" UK-EU ties.
