PM claims £350m figure on side of Brexit bus was actually 'a slight underestimate'

7 July 2021, 17:07 | Updated: 7 July 2021, 17:09

PM claims £350m figure on side of Brexit bus was actually 'a slight underestimate'

Nick Hardinges

By Nick Hardinges

Boris Johnson has claimed that the £350 million figure on the side of the Vote Leave bus during the Brexit campaign was actually "a slight underestimate".

Responding to a grilling by MPs at the Commons Liaison Committee, the prime minister was asked whether he believed ministers should correct the record if they lie.

"Of course," he told Labour's Chris Bryant, who went on to accuse Mr Johnson of "very rarely" doing so.

"Why is that?" the MP for Rhondda asked, adding that there are "plenty of incidences" where the PM's "precise words... have not been the full and accurate version of events".

The UK leader then gave a Brexit-related example of what he believed Mr Bryant was alluding to.

Read more: Calls for law change to protect EU citizens in UK

Watch: PM hasn't delivered Brexit promises to NI, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says

Boris Johnson claimed the figure on the side of the Brexit bus could now be much higher
Boris Johnson claimed the figure on the side of the Brexit bus could now be much higher. Picture: Getty / UK Parliament

"It is commonly asserted, for instance, that when we put the figure of £350 million a week on the side of a bus that went around this country, causing a great deal of hoo-ha, that that was erroneous and that it did not reflect the true figure," he said.

"That's probably one of the things you're thinking of isn't it Mr Bryant?"

"No, I'm thinking did you sack Matt Hancock?" the Labour MP responded.

The PM replied: "Let me continue with this point," before Mr Bryant swiftly interjected with: "Did you sack Matt Hancock?"

Read more: EE brings in EU roaming charges, despite saying it wouldn't after Brexit

Watch: James O'Brien reacts to 'One Britain One Nation' song

James O'Brien reacts to Brexit 5 year anniversary song

Mr Johnson then chose to ignore the grilling, instead reverting back to his example about the £350 million on the side of the Brexit bus.

"This was a figure that related to the gross sum that the UK gave to the EU budget. It was subject to lively controversy during the referendum campaign five years ago as you'll remember," he said.

"Actually, it turned out, if anything, to be a slight underestimate and by this year the gross figure will be considerably higher."

Unimpressed with his response, Mr Bryant once again asked the prime minister whether he sacked the former health secretary.

It's very early to really judge the success of Brexit, says Kate Hoey

He replied: "On your question about Mr Hancock... let me just go back to what I said many, many times... which was that we read the story concerning Mr Hancock and CCTV and so forth on the Friday, and we had a new health secretary on the Saturday.

"Considering that we are in the middle of a global pandemic, and it's quite a thing to move a health secretary Mr Bryant, I think that's quite fast going, if I may say so, and that's all I have to say on that matter."

Mr Bryant then once more tried asking the PM whether he sacked the former health secretary, however he was told by the committee chair Sir Bernard Jenkin that he had used up his allotted time.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Rhiannon Skye Whyte was stabbed to death in Walsall

South Sudanese teen accused of murdering asylum seeker hotel worker with screwdriver 'refuses to appear in court'

Will Guyatt questions who is responsible for the safety of children online

Are Zuckerberg and Musk responsible for looking after my kids online?

Simone White has died following a poisoning with alcoholic drinks at a bar in Loas

British lawyer, 28, dies following suspected mass methanol poisoning at bar in Laos

Russia has claimed that Britain is directly involved in the war in Ukraine

Britain now 'directly involved in war in Ukraine', Russian ambassador to UK says

Finlay MacDonald is accused of trying to murder his wife Rowena

Jealous husband 'murdered brother-in-law and tried to kill wife' after finding text saying she planned to leave him

Teenager jailed for least 22 years after fatally stabbing motorbike enthusiast who named attacker in dying breath

Teenager jailed for at least 22 years after fatally stabbing motorbike enthusiast who named attacker in dying breath

Pie fortune heir Dylan Thomas, 24, has been found guilty of murdering his best friend William Bush (R)

Heir to £230m pie fortune found guilty of murdering his best friend on Christmas Eve

Matt Hancock giving evidence at the Covid 19 inquiry

Matt Hancock says government 'got it wrong' with funeral restrictions and visiting dying relatives during pandemic

Body parts - inlcuding arms, legs and a head - belonging to 38-year-old Sarah Mayhew were found in Rowdown Fields in Croydon

Couple facing life in prison after admitting murdering woman and dumping dismembered body parts

'But where are the hams?': Police launch manhunt after thieves steal €200,000 of prized Christmas meat

Police hunt Spanish hamburglars after thieves steal €200,000 of prized Christmas meat

The new advert was published this week.

Rebranded Jaguar sparks further backlash after teasing new car model akin to ‘Tesla Cybertruck’

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year

Arrest warrants issued for Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu, former defence minister and Hamas chief over 'war crimes'

Matt Hancock giving evidence at the Covid 19 inquiry

Matt Hancock tells Covid inquiry government did 'everything we possibly could' during pandemic

Matt Hancock was booed as he arrived to testify at the Covid-19 inquiry

Matt Hancock booed as he arrives to give evidence at Covid inquiry

Four days of weather alerts are in place for the arrival of Storm Bert

Storm Bert set to bring snow, blizzards and downpours as four days of weather warnings issued

Kyiv says Russia has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile in an attack on Ukraine

Russia's revenge: Moscow 'launches intercontinental ballistic missile’ in attack on Ukraine