According to a leaked recording
In an explosive leaked recording obtained by Buzzfeed, Foreign secretary Boris Johnson is reportedly heard saying that there could be a Brexit meltdown but it will be “all right in the end”.
According to the news website, which secretly recorded his comments at a dinner recently and released them yesterday, Johnson also said that PM Theresa May was beginning to take a harder line but that there would be a need for level-headedness as talks became more difficult in the months ahead.
“I think Theresa is going to go into a phase where we are much more combative with Brussels,” Johnson was recorded saying.
“You’ve got to face the fact there may now be a meltdown. OK? I don’t want anybody to panic during the meltdown. No panic. Pro bono publico, no bloody panic. It’s going to be all right in the end.”
Johnson said US President Trump, who is locked in a battle with allies over steel tariffs, would take a stronger approach if he were in charge of the negotiations.
“Imagine Trump doing Brexit,” said Johnson, adding: “He’d go in bloody hard… There’d be all sorts of breakdowns, all sorts of chaos. Everyone would think he’d gone mad. But actually you might get somewhere. It’s a very, very good thought.”
A spokeswoman at May’s Downing Street office did not offer an immediate comment when contacted by Reuters.
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