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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Backlash after Barack Obama EU referendum intervention | Backlash after Barack Obama EU referendum intervention |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| US President Barack Obama has been accused of doing Downing Street's bidding - after he said the UK would be at "the back of the queue" for American trade deals if it left the EU. | US President Barack Obama has been accused of doing Downing Street's bidding - after he said the UK would be at "the back of the queue" for American trade deals if it left the EU. |
| Mr Obama was criticised by pro-Brexit campaigners after he warned of the consequences of the UK leaving the EU. | Mr Obama was criticised by pro-Brexit campaigners after he warned of the consequences of the UK leaving the EU. |
| UKIP's Nigel Farage said Mr Obama was "talking down Britain", while Tory Liam Fox said his views were "irrelevant". | UKIP's Nigel Farage said Mr Obama was "talking down Britain", while Tory Liam Fox said his views were "irrelevant". |
| Mr Obama, on a three-day UK visit, will meet Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn later. | Mr Obama, on a three-day UK visit, will meet Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn later. |
| His intervention came on his first full day in the UK and comes just weeks ahead of the 23 June in-out referendum. | His intervention came on his first full day in the UK and comes just weeks ahead of the 23 June in-out referendum. |
| Speaking at a joint news conference with Prime Minister David Cameron, Mr Obama said the US "wants Britain's influence to grow - including within Europe". | Speaking at a joint news conference with Prime Minister David Cameron, Mr Obama said the US "wants Britain's influence to grow - including within Europe". |
| "The UK is at its best when it's helping to lead a strong European Union. It leverages UK power to be part of the EU. | "The UK is at its best when it's helping to lead a strong European Union. It leverages UK power to be part of the EU. |
| "I don't think the EU moderates British influence in the world, it magnifies it." | "I don't think the EU moderates British influence in the world, it magnifies it." |
| BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said Mr Obama's message on trade was "very blunt" and "really upped the ante" in the referendum debate. | BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said Mr Obama's message on trade was "very blunt" and "really upped the ante" in the referendum debate. |
| Leave campaigner Mr Farage drew attention to the US president's terminology, saying his use of the phrase "back of the queue" rather than the more common American vernacular "back of the line" suggested Mr Obama was doing the prime minister's "bidding". | |
| "I think that's shameful," he added. | |
| Mr Fox said Mr Obama would be leaving the White House soon, and therefore his comments were "largely irrelevant". | Mr Fox said Mr Obama would be leaving the White House soon, and therefore his comments were "largely irrelevant". |
| New markets | |
| Conservative MP Dominic Raab labelled Mr Obama a "lame-duck American president doing an old British friend a political favour". | Conservative MP Dominic Raab labelled Mr Obama a "lame-duck American president doing an old British friend a political favour". |
| Downing Street rejected suggestions that any lines had been fed to Mr Obama, saying the US president spoke for himself. | |
| Sir Andrew Cahn, a former chief executive of UK Trade & Investment, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Britain would "miss out on something very important and valuable" if it left the EU and was not part of a proposed trade deal between the bloc and the US. | |
| Former foreign secretary Lord Owen said "Britain needs to create new markets away from the EU". | |
| Meanwhile, another prominent Leave campaigner - former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith - has tried to move the referendum debate on to immigration. | Meanwhile, another prominent Leave campaigner - former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith - has tried to move the referendum debate on to immigration. |
| In an article in the Daily Mail, he says the introduction of a national living wage - a move he supported while in government - will "surely lead to another stampede to our borders". | In an article in the Daily Mail, he says the introduction of a national living wage - a move he supported while in government - will "surely lead to another stampede to our borders". |
| He adds: "To make the Living Wage work for British people, we need to be able to control the number of people coming in." | He adds: "To make the Living Wage work for British people, we need to be able to control the number of people coming in." |
| Mr Obama will spend his second full day in London meeting Labour leader Mr Corbyn and visiting the Globe Theatre as part of the celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. | |
| EU referendum: In depth | EU referendum: In depth |
| The UK's EU vote: All you need to know | The UK's EU vote: All you need to know |
| EU for beginners: A guide | EU for beginners: A guide |
| Is Britain safer in or out of the EU? | Is Britain safer in or out of the EU? |
| A-Z guide to EU-speak | A-Z guide to EU-speak |
| Who's who: The Vote Leave team | Who's who: The Vote Leave team |
| Who's who: The Remain campaign | Who's who: The Remain campaign |