Boris Johnson Reveals Infighting Over Brexit

In incendiary comments, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Treasury was the “heart of remain” and conceded that there are “arguments” going on at the heart of the government over the best way for Britain to quit the bloc.

He even suggested that US President Donald Trump would do a better job of negotiating the UK’s exit than Prime Minister Theresa May, Politics Home reported.

Johnson was secretly recorded speaking at a private dinner at the Institute of Directors in London, following a meeting hosted by the Thatcherite think tank Conservative Way Forward.

He said, “The fight at the moment, I won’t hide it from you, the inner struggle, is very, very difficult. The Treasury, which is basically the heart of remain, has seized the risk—what they don’t want is friction at the borders. They don’t want any disruption. So they’re sacrificing all the medium and long-term gains amid fear of short-term disruption. Do you see what I’m saying?

“And that fear of short term disruption has become so huge in people’s minds ... Project Fear is really working on them. They’re terrified of this nonsense. It’s all mumbo jumbo.”

Johnson said he was “increasingly admiring of Donald Trump” and added, “Imagine Trump doing Brexit. He’d go in bloody hard… There’d be all sorts of breakdowns, all sorts of chaos. Everyone would think he’d gone mad. But actually you might get somewhere. It’s a very, very good thought.”

But he said the British prime minister was now ready to become more “combative with Brussels”.

“You’ve got to face the fact there may now be a meltdown. OK,” he said. “I don’t want anybody to panic during the meltdown. No panic… It’s going to be all right in the end.”