Boris Johnson has repeated his misleading claim that the UK can “take back control” of £350 million per week after we stop paying into the EU budget.
This time he said it in the House of Commons. The Ministerial Code stipulates that “ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the prime minister”.
Johnson responded yesterday to a question by Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake about his referendum pledge to deliver £350 million a week for the NHS as follows: “As the right honourable gentleman knows full well, when we leave the European Union, there will be at least £350 million a week, of which we will take back control.”
Johnson should be aware that this claim is erroneous. A similar formulation appeared in his 4,000-word Telegraph article in September, in which he wrote: “Once we have settled our accounts, we will take back control of roughly £350 million per week.”
This prompted a letter from David Norgrove, the head of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in which he accused Johnson of a “clear misuse of official statistics”. He explained that the claim “confuses gross and net contributions” by assuming that “payments currently made to the UK by the EU, including for example for the support of agriculture and scientific research, will not be paid by the UK government when we leave”.
Johnson replied with his own letter, claiming “wilful distortion” of his article. But the ONS confirmed that Norgrove had “not changed the conclusion set out in his letter”.
Johnson’s key error is to ignore the rebate which the UK gets from its contribution to the EU budget. This money never leaves the UK Treasury. What’s more, the UK has a veto over any changes to the rebate. So Johnson cannot claim that Britain ever loses control of this proportion of the £350 million per week gross figure – and therefore control cannot be taken back.
If Theresa May is serious about the Ministerial Code – as she should be – she should ask the foreign secretary to show he did not knowingly mislead Parliament. And if he can’t, she should demand his resignation.
InFacts asked Johnson to clarify his remark in the Commons. No reply had been received by time of publication.