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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| EU referendum: Baroness Sayeeda Warsi defects from Leave to Remain | EU referendum: Baroness Sayeeda Warsi defects from Leave to Remain |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Former Conservative Party chair Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has defected from the Leave campaign and opted for Britain to remain within the EU. | Former Conservative Party chair Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has defected from the Leave campaign and opted for Britain to remain within the EU. |
| She cited "hate and xenophobia" as the reasons for changing her position. | She cited "hate and xenophobia" as the reasons for changing her position. |
| Her decision came after she saw Nigel Farage's controversial 'breaking point' poster, which was widely criticised for being xenophobic -- Chancellor George Osborne said it had echoes of 1930s propaganda. | Her decision came after she saw Nigel Farage's controversial 'breaking point' poster, which was widely criticised for being xenophobic -- Chancellor George Osborne said it had echoes of 1930s propaganda. |
| Ms Warsi told The Times the poster was "the breaking point to say 'I can't go on supporting this'". | Ms Warsi told The Times the poster was "the breaking point to say 'I can't go on supporting this'". |
| “Are we prepared to tell lies, to spread hate and xenophobia just to win a campaign? For me that’s a step too far.” | “Are we prepared to tell lies, to spread hate and xenophobia just to win a campaign? For me that’s a step too far.” |
| Echoing the sentiment of the Prime Minister's impassioned appearance on Question Time, she also accused leading Brexit campaigner Michael Gove of promoting "complete lies". | Echoing the sentiment of the Prime Minister's impassioned appearance on Question Time, she also accused leading Brexit campaigner Michael Gove of promoting "complete lies". |
| The loss of Ms Warsi will be a great blow to the Leave side, which has been fighting off allegations of xenophobia and racism. | |
| A daughter of Pakistani immigrants, she was the first Muslim woman to be selected for political candidacy by the Conservative party, and later, the first to serve in the cabinet. | |
| Her relationship with the Leave side was not always characterised by plain sailing. Earlier in June, Ms Warsi co-signed a letter, along with Labour Peer Doreen Lawrence and former director of Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, criticising Nigel Farage's claims that migrants to Britain posed a threat to women. | |
| Published in the Guardian, they wrote that warnings of "mass sex attacks" were "spreading fear" and "an age-old racist tool designed to stoke division about the latest group of immigrants arriving in Britain". | |
| The letter continued: "In particular, his use of the term 'nuclear bomb' is deeply disturbing and gives away his intention to cause an explosion in the referendum debate by unleashing a weapon that acts indiscriminately; one that he is willing to detonate regardless of the wider impact on community and race relations in our country. | |
| "This follows spreading lies and fears about Turkey joining the EU and is a cheap political tactic designed to cause maximum harm and convert fear into votes at whatever cost." | |
| The letter concluded by stating that Mr Farage's rhetoric "makes even some pro-Brexit advocates feel profoundly uncomfortable." | |
| Baroness Warsi is not the only high profile female campaigner the Leave side have lost. In June, the respected Conservative MP Dr Sarah Wollaston also defected to support Remain. | |
| She told the BBC that the core Leave claim that a Brexit would free £350million a week for the NHS "simply isn't true". | |
| She said: "For someone like me who has long campaigned for open and honest data in public life I could not have set foot on a battle bus that has at the heart of its campaign a figure that I know to be untrue. | |
| "If you're in a position where you can't hand out a Vote Leave leaflet, you can't be campaigning for that organisation." | |
| The EU referendum debate has so far been characterised by bias, distortion and exaggeration. So until 23 June we we’re running a series of question and answer features that explain the most important issues in a detailed, dispassionate way to help inform your decision. | |
| What is Brexit and why are we having an EU referendum? | |
| Does the UK need to take more control of its sovereignty? | |
| Could the UK media swing the EU referendum one way or another? | |
| Will the UK benefit from being released from EU laws? | |
| Will we gain or lose rights by leaving the European Union? | |
| Will Brexit mean that Europeans have to leave the UK? | |
| Will leaving the EU lead to the break-up of the UK? | |
| What will happen to immigration if there's Brexit? | |
| Will Brexit make the UK more or less safe? | |
| Will the UK benefit from being released from EU laws? | |
| Will leaving the EU save taxpayers money and mean more money for the NHS? | |
| What will Brexit mean for British tourists booking holidays in the EU? | |
| Will Brexit help or damage the environment? | |
| Will Brexit mean that Europeans have to leave the UK? | |
| What will Brexit mean for British expats in Europe? |