Andrew Marr blasts Boris for 'ludicrous and offensive' Ukraine Brexit comparison
21 March 2022, 18:09 | Updated: 21 March 2022, 18:15
Marr: PM's comparisons 'ludicrous and offensive'
Andrew Marr has hit out at Boris Johnson for his "ludicrous and offensive" comparison between Ukraine and Brexit, and said it was a calculated comment to "get back to talking about Brexit" in anticipation of upcoming local elections.
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"In the Prime Minister's mind there are similarities between the referendum to get us out of the EU and the bloody, heroic resistance of Ukraine against the Russian army," he said on LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr, referencing Boris Johnson's comparison between Brits voting for Brexit and Ukrainians fighting Putin's invasion.
"Over the weekend he also suggested that the Labour Party would run up the white flag and surrender to Putin.
"Now these are ludicrous and offensive things to say but Boris Johnson didn't say them because he wasn't thinking.
"He said them because he really understands politics.
"He wants to get back to talking about Brexit before the local elections which, if they went badly for the Tories, would be bad for him, too.
"He understands - none better - that if you make your your opponents angry enough, if you provoke them, you'll get them talking about what you want."
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"In short, my friends, on this warm day in late March, tit for tat, poke in the eye politics as usual is back," he continued.
"What, meanwhile, of the Russians?
"Well they have spent this delightful day shelling a shopping centre in Kyiv and demanding immediate surrender across the smoking ruins of Mariupol – which is barely any longer a living city.
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"It's not quite like the Brexit referendum, is it?
"We have a mini budget coming up later in the week but in the mean time here is the question: is British politics really, honestly stepping up to the scale of Putin’s threat?"
