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| John Major: NHS at risk from Brexit 'pythons' Johnson and Gove | John Major: NHS at risk from Brexit 'pythons' Johnson and Gove |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The NHS would be as safe as a pet hamster in the presence of hungry python if Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Iain Duncan Smith rose to power following Brexit, Sir John Major has said. | The NHS would be as safe as a pet hamster in the presence of hungry python if Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Iain Duncan Smith rose to power following Brexit, Sir John Major has said. |
| In an extraordinary attack on his fellow Conservatives, Major produced a withering assessment of leading members of Vote Leave, calling their campaign deceitful, untrue, depressing, awful and verging on the squalid. | In an extraordinary attack on his fellow Conservatives, Major produced a withering assessment of leading members of Vote Leave, calling their campaign deceitful, untrue, depressing, awful and verging on the squalid. |
| The former prime minister insisted his intervention was not a personal slight against Johnson or Gove, but a more general criticism of the out campaign’s shift to the right on immigration and claims that they would protect the NHS. | The former prime minister insisted his intervention was not a personal slight against Johnson or Gove, but a more general criticism of the out campaign’s shift to the right on immigration and claims that they would protect the NHS. |
| Related: How do I … vote in the EU referendum? | |
| However, he went on to claim Gove had wanted to privatise the NHS, Johnson wished to charge people for health services and Duncan Smith advocated moving to a social insurance system. | However, he went on to claim Gove had wanted to privatise the NHS, Johnson wished to charge people for health services and Duncan Smith advocated moving to a social insurance system. |
| “The NHS is about as safe with them as a pet hamster in the presence of a hungry python,” Major said on BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show. He added Johnson was a “court jester” but not a serious politician and said that the Conservatives Johnson had divided would not be loyal to him after leaving the EU. | “The NHS is about as safe with them as a pet hamster in the presence of a hungry python,” Major said on BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show. He added Johnson was a “court jester” but not a serious politician and said that the Conservatives Johnson had divided would not be loyal to him after leaving the EU. |
| He added: “I think this is a deceitful campaign and, in terms of what they are saying about immigration, what a depressing and awful campaign.” | He added: “I think this is a deceitful campaign and, in terms of what they are saying about immigration, what a depressing and awful campaign.” |
| The attack, which was likely to have been authorised by the official remain campaign and Downing Street, is designed to counter the Vote Leave claim that it would spend at least £100m more a week on the NHS out of money clawed back from Brussels. | The attack, which was likely to have been authorised by the official remain campaign and Downing Street, is designed to counter the Vote Leave claim that it would spend at least £100m more a week on the NHS out of money clawed back from Brussels. |
| Leading Brexit campaigners reacted by taking a serious tone in interviews on Sunday morning, rather than launching a counterattack on Major. In an interview with Peston on Sunday, Gove said he still believed the party could come back together after a vote to leave, and he would not want to choose between his close allies Cameron and Johnson. | |
| Related: Nigel Farage: migrant sex attacks to be nuclear bomb of EU referendum | |
| A backbench Brexit campaigner, Bernard Jenkin, tweeted that his side was “rising above the personal attacks and bitterness of John Major, with positive case for leave”. Andrea Leadsom, a Conservative energy minister, told the BBC 5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics: “He’s obviously decided playing the man is going to be the better tactic for the remain side.” | |
| It is the latest escalation of hostilities between leading Conservative members of the in and out campaigns, which have engaged in vicious claims and counterclaims in the last few weeks. | It is the latest escalation of hostilities between leading Conservative members of the in and out campaigns, which have engaged in vicious claims and counterclaims in the last few weeks. |
| Speaking on the same programme, Johnson dismissed Major’s accusations and said he wanted to talk about the arguments. | Speaking on the same programme, Johnson dismissed Major’s accusations and said he wanted to talk about the arguments. |
| The former London mayor said it was “absolute nonsense” that he was supporting the leave campaign out of personal ambition and added that he did not want it to become about “personality politics”. | The former London mayor said it was “absolute nonsense” that he was supporting the leave campaign out of personal ambition and added that he did not want it to become about “personality politics”. |
| He also disavowed a Vote Leave poster that said: “David Cameron cannot be trusted on immigration,” claiming he had never seen it before. | He also disavowed a Vote Leave poster that said: “David Cameron cannot be trusted on immigration,” claiming he had never seen it before. |
| Johnson has previously accused the prime minister of leading a government that had corroded trust on immigration by failing to meet its targets. | Johnson has previously accused the prime minister of leading a government that had corroded trust on immigration by failing to meet its targets. |
| On Sunday, he wrote jointly with Gove in the Telegraph that the prime minister had put the British economy in “severe danger” by giving away a UK veto during talks in Brussels earlier this year. | |
| Related: Poll gives Brexit campaign lead of three percentage points | |
| Other leading members of the leave campaign have more directly impugned the prime minister’s character, painting him as untrustworthy and damaged as a leader. | Other leading members of the leave campaign have more directly impugned the prime minister’s character, painting him as untrustworthy and damaged as a leader. |
| Three backbench Tory MPs have suggested he should face a leadership challenge after the election, and more could speak out if he continues to campaign so ferociously to stay in the EU. | Three backbench Tory MPs have suggested he should face a leadership challenge after the election, and more could speak out if he continues to campaign so ferociously to stay in the EU. |
| Duncan Smith last week accused Cameron of insincerity and an attempt to deceive the public over EU immigration. | Duncan Smith last week accused Cameron of insincerity and an attempt to deceive the public over EU immigration. |
| From the other side, Michael Heseltine, a Conservative former deputy prime minister, accused Johnson of behaving “irresponsibly [and] recklessly” and making “preposterous, obscene political remarks”. | From the other side, Michael Heseltine, a Conservative former deputy prime minister, accused Johnson of behaving “irresponsibly [and] recklessly” and making “preposterous, obscene political remarks”. |
| Ken Clarke, a Tory former chancellor and home secretary, said Johnson was not serious and just a nicer version of Donald Trump, while Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem former deputy prime minister, said on Friday that the former London mayor was like “Trump with a thesaurus”. | Ken Clarke, a Tory former chancellor and home secretary, said Johnson was not serious and just a nicer version of Donald Trump, while Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem former deputy prime minister, said on Friday that the former London mayor was like “Trump with a thesaurus”. |
| Despite the bitterness of the rows, the prime minister told the Mail on Sunday that he would want Johnson and Gove to have major roles in the government if Britain voted to stay in. | Despite the bitterness of the rows, the prime minister told the Mail on Sunday that he would want Johnson and Gove to have major roles in the government if Britain voted to stay in. |
| He also warned that quitting the EU would create a “clear and present” danger of rocketing mortgage costs by £1,000 on average or £1,500 in the worst-case scenario. | He also warned that quitting the EU would create a “clear and present” danger of rocketing mortgage costs by £1,000 on average or £1,500 in the worst-case scenario. |