Johnson Slams Blair Over 'Insulting Intelligence of Electorate' Who Chose Brexit

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Friday called on citizens to ignore former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s anti-Brexit speech as showing contempt and doubting the intelligence of the electorate.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Blair called on British anti-Brexit campaigners to "rise up" against it, adding that the people voted "without knowledge" of the costs and negative consequences of such a move.

"He really is insulting the intelligence of the electorate to say that they got it [Brexit] wrong. … I urge the British people to rise up and turn off the TV the next time Blair comes on with his condescending campaign," Johnson told Sky News TV-channel, stressing that Brexit would be "a spectacular success."

Earlier this month, UK Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed that her government planned to trigger Article 50 of the EU Lisbon Treaty launching Brexit procedures by the end of March 2017.

In January's 12-point Brexit plan, the UK government said it would not seek to stay in the EU single market but would pursue a post-Brexit free trade deal with the bloc. The government also made plans to boost international trade with partners outside of Europe.