This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/20/sayeeda-warsi-quits-leave-campaign-over-hateful-xenophobic-tactics
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Sayeeda Warsi quits Leave campaign over 'hateful, xenophobic' tactics | Sayeeda Warsi quits Leave campaign over 'hateful, xenophobic' tactics |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Sayeeda Warsi, the former chair of the Conservative Party, has announced she would no longer support the campaign to leave the European Union, accusing it of “hate and xenophobia”, days before the referendum. | Sayeeda Warsi, the former chair of the Conservative Party, has announced she would no longer support the campaign to leave the European Union, accusing it of “hate and xenophobia”, days before the referendum. |
| Warsi, told The Times newspaper she had decided to “leave Leave” because of a poster launched ahead of Thursday’s vote. | Warsi, told The Times newspaper she had decided to “leave Leave” because of a poster launched ahead of Thursday’s vote. |
| Related: Richard Branson starts his own campaign to keep Britain in the EU | Related: Richard Branson starts his own campaign to keep Britain in the EU |
| The poster, an image of migrants and refugees queueing on the border of Slovenia with the caption “Breaking point”, was unveiled by Nigel Farage last week. | The poster, an image of migrants and refugees queueing on the border of Slovenia with the caption “Breaking point”, was unveiled by Nigel Farage last week. |
| “That ‘breaking point’ poster really was – for me – the breaking point to say, ‘I can’t go on supporting this’,” Warsi told The Times. | “That ‘breaking point’ poster really was – for me – the breaking point to say, ‘I can’t go on supporting this’,” Warsi told The Times. |
| “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.” |
| Revised Times front page:Brexit camp divided as senior Tory walks out#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/LyoYwZpMO2 | Revised Times front page:Brexit camp divided as senior Tory walks out#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/LyoYwZpMO2 |
| Accusations of divisive tactics by the Leave campaign intensified after the shock murder last week of lawmaker Jo Cox who had advocated for refugees’ rights. | Accusations of divisive tactics by the Leave campaign intensified after the shock murder last week of lawmaker Jo Cox who had advocated for refugees’ rights. |
| Her alleged killer, Thomas Mair, replied “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain” when asked to give his name at a court appearance. | Her alleged killer, Thomas Mair, replied “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain” when asked to give his name at a court appearance. |
| Farage was forced to fend off criticism of the poster over the weekend as polls indicated the two sides were neck-and-neck ahead of the 23 June vote. | Farage was forced to fend off criticism of the poster over the weekend as polls indicated the two sides were neck-and-neck ahead of the 23 June vote. |
| George Osborne called it “disgusting and vile” and said it had “echoes of literature used in the 1930s”. | George Osborne called it “disgusting and vile” and said it had “echoes of literature used in the 1930s”. |
| Related: European neighbours want Britain to remain – but only just | Related: European neighbours want Britain to remain – but only just |
| But Farage denied stirring hatred. | But Farage denied stirring hatred. |
| “When you challenge the establishment in this country, they come after you, they call you all sorts of things,” he said. | “When you challenge the establishment in this country, they come after you, they call you all sorts of things,” he said. |
| Warsi, a member of the House of Lords, was a junior Foreign Office minister under Cameron until she resigned in protest at the government’s policy on the Israel-Gaza conflict in 2014. | Warsi, a member of the House of Lords, was a junior Foreign Office minister under Cameron until she resigned in protest at the government’s policy on the Israel-Gaza conflict in 2014. |
| Speaking of the Leave campaign she told the Times: “I look at that group of people and I think they’re not the kind of people I’d get on a night bus with. Why would I want them to run my country? | |
| “I don’t want the Leave camp to be running this country and I don’t want the messages coming out of that camp to form the basis of the kind of Britain that I want to live in and to bring my kids up in.” | |
| She also accuse Michael Gove of telling “complete lies about Turkey’s accession to the EU.” | |
| Following her announcement, Vote Leave questioned whether Warsi had ever supported their campaign. | Following her announcement, Vote Leave questioned whether Warsi had ever supported their campaign. |
| “When I invited Sayeeda Warsi to join the Leave campaign, she declined,” Daniel Hannan, a member of the Vote Leave campaign committee wrote on Twitter. | “When I invited Sayeeda Warsi to join the Leave campaign, she declined,” Daniel Hannan, a member of the Vote Leave campaign committee wrote on Twitter. |
| When I invited Sayeeda Warsi to join the Leave campaign, she declined. Fair enough, obviously. But how is this a "defection"? | When I invited Sayeeda Warsi to join the Leave campaign, she declined. Fair enough, obviously. But how is this a "defection"? |