Boris Johnson has doubled down on his decision to repeat Vote Leave’s lie that we send £350 million a week to the EU, accusing an independent statistics watchdog of deliberately misrepresenting his words and demanding a retraction.
David Norgrove wrote to the foreign secretary to express his concerns over Johnson’s Telegraph article. The Chair of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) said he was “surprised and disappointed” that Johnson had “chosen to repeat the figure”, and called it “a clear misuse of official statistics”.
Instead of accepting the rebuke, Johnson’s spokesman stated that the foreign secretary had received assurances from Norgrove that the letter referred only to the Telegraph’s headline – which he did not write – and that his article was “absolutely fine”. The UKSA immediately responded that it had given no such assurance, and “has not changed the conclusion set out in [Norgrove’s] letter to the foreign secretary”.
Johnson’s spokesman escalated again saying he stood by their account of the call, adding that Norgrove “must have amnesia”. The foreign secretary has now demanded a retraction, saying he was “surprised and disappointed” that the UKSA letter was “based on what appeared to be a wilful distortion of the text of my article”.
He also states that it was “a complete misrepresentation” to say he claimed £350 million “might be available for extra public spending” – a statement that would surprise anyone who remember’s his battle bus.
Johnson’s attempt at a defence focuses on the so-called rebate on our budget contribution that Margaret Thatcher famously negotiated and that we never send to the EU. He wrote: “As for the rebate… it only forms part of the EU’s financing arrangements with the agreement of all the other EU Member States.”
This is wrong. Although the rebate was adopted by all the other member states, it can only be changed with the agreement and ratification of all member states, which includes the UK. Is Johnson really ignorant of this?
The foreign secretary’s lie has put Theresa May on the spot. If she allows Johnson to keep his job, she’ll undermine our independent statistics watchdog and allow post-truth politics to run wild and further pollute our national life.