Brexit split is ‘fake news on steroids’, says Daniel Kawczynski MP

Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski accused the national media of trying to deliberately create a narrative of bickering politicians.

Mr Kawczynski said Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union was one of the most important issues the country has faced in a generation, and MPs would not be doing their jobs properly if they did not have “vigorous debate” about the questions that surrounded it.

His comments follow reports of a rift between Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Theresa May following an article by Mr Johnson in a national newspaper. The speculation intensified when Home Secretary Amber Rudd agreed when asked by the BBC’s Andrew Marr if Mr Johnson was a “back-seat driver”.

He said both Conservative and Labour MPs had a responsibility to hold their leaders to account, and said we should celebrate the fact that MPs were trying to articulate different viewpoints.

On his official Twitter account, Mr Kawczynski wrote “Cabinet squabbling over Brexit is ‘fake news’ on steroids we expect and demand the most rigorous debate over this monumental decision.”

Speaking today, he said MPs were paid to hold their leaders to account, and they would be failing in their duties if they blindly toed the party line.

“We don’t want to live in something like President Ceausescu’s cabinet, where everybody nods and acquiesces to the leader, “ he said.

“It’s very depressing how the media are trying to portray the cabinet as squabbling.

“Leaving the EU is the biggest and most monumental decision that those of us in our mid-40s or younger have ever had to face in our lifetimes, and we should celebrate the fact that we are having robust debates about this.

“There will be people in both the Conservative and Labour parties who will have different views, and they are not earning their money if they are not taking part in robust exchanges about these.”

He said Mr Johnson had expressed a view held by many people when he called for a clean break from the European Union, which would see the UK leave the European Single Market and the European customs union, and begin negotiating trade deals with countries around the world.

Mr Kawczynski added that he personally felt it was right that Britain should continue to make some payments to the EU to take part in activities where international co-operation was beneficial.

“The most obvious one is the European space programme,” he said. “I don’t think we can justify asking the taxpayer to fund a UK space programme, but it makes practical sense to throw our resources in with the EU for the European space programme.”

He said Britain should also continue to contribute to the cost of the European policing agency Europol.