Nick Clegg: Chances Of No-Deal Brexit Have Been Accelerated Due To Tories

11 June 2019, 15:48

Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said that the chances of the UK leaving the EU without a deal have been "accelerated" by the Conservatives' insistence that Brexit is essential for the party's survival.

The former Lib Dem MP, who led his party into coalition with the Conservatives and is a vocal campaigner for a second referendum, said Brexit had been "hijacked".

The Tory leadership race has seen candidates support the UK's departure by the current deadline of October 31, even if a deal cannot be approved by Parliament.

On Tuesday, Mr Clegg said: "I think the chances of a no-deal outcome have accelerated because the Conservative Party, as they always do, have put their own survival ahead of the survival of the union of the United Kingdom.

"And they decided that delivering Brexit, however that economically impacts today, is absolutely imperative for their survival."

But despite Mr Clegg praising the Lib Dems' "Lazarus-like" resurgence in the European elections, the current Facebook global affairs chief said he did not regret no longer leading the party.