A second Brexit referendum would be undemocratic, says PUTIN: Russian strongman says May must ‘fulfill the will of the people’
- Vladimir Putin used his annual press conference to wade into the UK Brexit row
- He said another vote would undermine the historic EU referendum held in 2016
- Remainers gleefully seized on his remark to launch fresh attack on the PM’s deal
Vladimir Putin today backed Theresa May on Brexit – saying that another referendum would be undemocratic.
The Russian strongman waded into the bitter Brexit row to say the PM must ‘fulfill the will of the people’ and carry out the withdrawal from the EU.
Giving his annual televised press conference, the Russian president said he ‘understood’ Mrs May’s position in ‘fighting for this Brexit’.
He said: ‘The referendum was held. What can she do? She has to fulfill the will of the people expressed in the referendum.’
He added: ‘Was it not a referendum? Someone disliked the result, so repeat it over and over? Is this democracy? What then would be the point of the referendum in the first place?’
But the PM will not welcome the support from Mr Putin – who she says is to blame for the Salisbury nerve agent attack.
Vladimir Putin (pictured today in Moscow) backed Theresa May on Brexit – saying that another referendum would be undemocratic
And Remainers gleefully seized on his comments to launch a fresh broadside against the PM’s deal.
David Miliband, ex Foreign Secretary and leading supporter of the People’s Vote campaign, said: ‘Vladimir Putin’s contempt for, or fear of, a People’s Vote will not shock anybody.
‘The overwhelming evidence of malign and multiple Russian interventions in western democratic processes, including the Brexit referendum, have been designed to destabilise democratic rule. It is an insult to the United Kingdom that he should be lecturing us on our democratic process.
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‘The idea that democratic consent for Brexit policy should end on 23 June 2016 is dangerous.’
He added: ‘It must be for the UK to decide the way forward for our country. And as much as Vladimir Putin loathes the European project, it should be the right of each and every one of us to compare the Government’s Brexit deal with the benefits of the deal we currently have, which is not just good for Britain at home, but is a bulwark against adventurism and autocracy abroad.’
Labour MP Ian Murray, a campaigner with the anti-Brexit group Best for Britain, said: ‘Finally, Theresa May has found a backer for her deal.
‘But when Vladimir Putin is trying to give her lessons on democracy, you know that the Prime Minister has made a catastrophic error of judgement.
‘Rather than agree with Putin’s propaganda, the true democratic option is to give the people a final say on whether they still want to leave the EU.’
Russia was accused of trying to meddle in the Brexit referendum to encourage voters to back Leave in order to sow discord and division within the EU.
And Mrs May – who is desperately trying to get her warring MPs and minsters to back a deal – will not welcome Russia’s support.
Theresa May (pictured in Downing Street today) warned her warring ministers that her deal was the only Brexit plan available today
Amber Rudd (pictured left last night on Peston) has triggered a new split in the Cabinet by hinting at support for a second referendum on Brexit – while Andrea Leadsom (right today in Westminster) said that would be ‘unacceptable’ and endorsed a ‘managed no deal’
Britain-Russia relations have plunged to their worst ebb since the Cold War in the wake of the Salisbury nerve agent attack.
Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were both left fighting the lives in hospital after being poisoned with Novichok by Russian secret agents.
While British mother Dawn Sturgess, 44, died in hospital after spraying herself with a perfume bottle understood to have contained the deadly poison.
As Mr Putin waded into the bitter row, the PM was trying to get her bitterly divided ministers back in line over Brexit.
Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd sparked fury among some of her colleagues after she said last night that she could ‘see the argument’ for a new referendum if Parliament votes down the PM’s Brexit deal.
Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom hit back to say a new vote was ‘unacceptable’ – but then backed another alternative to the PM’s deal, a so-called ‘managed no deal’.
Mrs May’s official spokesman also slapped her down – saying she had backed the PM’s deal and there is no alternative.
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