Barack Obama's visit to Britain has shaken up the country, as the US President warned that Britain would be at the 'back of the queue' for a trade deal with United States if it left the EU. He warned Britain’s voters that it could take up to a decade to strike a trade deal with the United States from outside the European Union.
At the end of a three-day visit during which he celebrated the Queen’s 90th birthday with a lunch at Windsor Castle, Obama said it was wrong for Brexit campaigners to suggest it would be straightforward to agree a new trade relationship if Britain left the EU.
“It could be five years from now, 10 years from now before we’re actually able to get something done,” he told the BBC, adding that the first priority for the US would be to complete ongoing talks on a trade deal with the EU.
In his unexpectedly blunt comments, the President took on critics including Boris Johnson, and is accused of showing 'woeful ignorance' of the damage the EU does to British national security.
Obama defended his right to express an opinion, saying: “I don’t anticipate that anything I’ve said will change the position of those who are leading the campaigns in one direction or the other, but for ordinary voters I thought it would be relevant to hear what the president of the United States, who loves the British people and cares deeply about this relationship, has to say.”
On Tuesday, the Home Secretary Theresa May has called for Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights - but has urged Britain to remain a member of the EU.
The Home Secretary used her first speech of the referendum campaign to argue that the case for remaining part of the treaty is "not clear".
On the question of the EU as a whole, she offered cautious backing to staying in - admitting there are "problems" associated with membership and saying the country "could cope" outside.
However, arguing that Britain would be more secure from crime and terrorism, she insisted it was in the national interest to stay.
In a wide-ranging speech, Mrs May also insisted that "nobody should think" Brexit is the "single bullet that is suddenly going to solve all our immigration problems".
Referring to the ECHR - drafted after the Second World War - Mrs May said “...Regardless of the EU referendum, my view is this: if we want to reform human rights laws in this country, it isn't the EU we should leave but the ECHR and the jurisdiction of its court."
She cited the cases of clerics Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada, who were at the centre of protracted legal battles in the UK, and a controversial ruling on prisoner voting.
On the other hand, a new cross-party group campaigning for Britain to remain a member of the European Union has received the overwhelming backing of British Indian parliamentarians.
The “British Indians for IN” campaign was launched today with the backing of 15 British Indian Parliamentarians, including representatives from the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Crossbench Members of the House of Lords.
Those supporting the campaign have signed an open letter making clear that the UK’s membership of the EU “helps to enhance and strengthen the UK’s partnership with countries like India” and that the estimated 1.2 million British Indians eligible to vote on the 23rd June “could prove to be decisive” in determining the outcome of the referendum.
The open letter reads: “We are British Parliamentarians of Indian-origin and whilst we represent different political views, on a whole range of matters, we believe that membership of the EU is an issue which transcends party politics.
We are united in our belief that the UK is stronger, safer and better off as a member of the EU.
Contrary to the argument made by some, that Britain needs to leave the EU in order to strengthen its ties with Commonwealth countries, we believe that our membership of the EU helps to enhance and strengthen the UK’s partnership with countries like India.
In the lead up to the EU referendum on 23rd of June we will be encouraging everyone to vote to remain in the European Union, including the 1.2 million British Indians eligible to vote whose votes could prove to be decisive in determining the outcome of the referendum.”
The signatories to the letter include:
- Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE DL, Chairman of Cobra Beer Partnership Ltd
- Rt. Hon. Lord Navnit Dholakia OBE DL, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
- Lord Rajinder Loomba CBE, Founder of the Loomba Foundation
- Seema Malhotra MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
- Lord Dolar Popat, Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda and Rwanda
- Lord Diljit Rana MBE, Managing Director of Andras House Ltd
- Alok Sharma MP, Prime Minister’s Infrastructure Envoy to India
- Virendra Sharma MP, Chair of the Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group
- Lord Ranbir Suri
- Lord Bhikhu Parekh, Emeritus Professor of Political Philosophy, University of Westminster and Emeritus Professor, University of Hull
- Shailesh Vara MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Justice
- Rt. Hon. Keith Vaz MP, Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee
- Valerie Vaz MP, Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party
- Baroness Sandip Verma, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for International Development
- Lord Rumi Verjee CBE, Founder of Rumi Foundation
Alok Sharma MP, who is helping to co-ordinate the campaign, said: “With more than a million eligible voters in the upcoming referendum, British Indians could prove to have a decisive say in our future relationship with Europe. I am therefore delighted that so many of my distinguished colleagues have signed up to support this campaign.”
