Boris Johnson says Brexit vote does not mean leaving Europe 'in any sense'

'There is a massive difference between leaving the EU and our relations with Europe'

Thursday 14 July 2016 16:12 BST

Boris Johnson has said the result of the EU referendum must be respected - but that it did not mean leaving Europe "in any sense".

Speaking outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the former London mayor set out his vision for Britain to be a more “global player”.

He said: “I set out what I think that we need to be doing and what we need to be focusing on, and that is reshaping Britain's global profile and identity as a great global player.

“And on Europe clearly we have to give effect to the will of people in the referendum, but that does not mean in any sense, leaving Europe.

“There is a massive difference between leaving the EU and our relations with Europe, which if anything I think are going to be intensified and built up at an intergovernmental level.”

Mr Johnson, a former journalist who became MP for Henley in 2001 and was mayor of London for eight years, was chosen for the post yesterday by Prime Minister Theresa May on her inaugural day in office.

His appointment to the Cabinet office has raised eyebrows, with some referring to his controversial comments including the recent suggestion Barack Obama might hold a grudge against Britain because of his “part-Kenyan” heritage.

Labour MP David Lammy summed up the reaction to Mr Johnson's appointment in a tweet, in which he wrote: "Boris Johnson as our Foreign Secretary? Is this a bad dream? An elaborate wind up? Please God help us".

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

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1/66 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

More expensive foreign holidays

The first practical effect of a vote to Leave is that the pound will be worth less abroad, meaning foreign holidays will cost us more

nito100

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

No immediate change in immigration status

The Prime Minister will have to address other immediate concerns. He is likely to reassure nationals of other EU countries living in the UK that their status is unchanged. That is what the Leave campaign has said, so, even after the Brexit negotiations are complete, those who are already in the UK would be allowed to stay

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6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Higher inflation

A lower pound means that imports would become more expensive. This is likely to mean the return of inflation – a phenomenon with which many of us are unfamiliar because prices have been stable for so long, rising at no more than about 2 per cent a year. The effect may probably not be particularly noticeable in the first few months. At first price rises would be confined to imported goods – food and clothes being the most obvious – but inflation has a tendency to spread and to gain its own momentum

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6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Interest rates might rise

The trouble with inflation is that the Bank of England has a legal obligation to keep it as close to 2 per cent a year as possible. If a fall in the pound threatens to push prices up faster than this, the Bank will raise interest rates. This acts against inflation in three ways. First, it makes the pound more attractive, because deposits in pounds will earn higher interest. Second, it reduces demand by putting up the cost of borrowing, and especially by taking larger mortgage payments out of the economy. Third, it makes it more expensive for businesses to borrow to expand output

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6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Did somebody say recession?

Mr Carney, the Treasury and a range of international economists have warned about this. Many Leave voters appear not to have believed them, or to think that they are exaggerating small, long-term effects. But there is no doubt that the Leave vote is a negative shock to the economy. This is because it changes expectations about the economy’s future performance. Even though Britain is not actually be leaving the EU for at least two years, companies and investors will start to move money out of Britain, or to scale back plans for expansion, because they are less confident about what would happen after 2018

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6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

And we wouldn’t even get our money back

All this will be happening while the Prime Minister, whoever he or she is, is negotiating the terms of our future access to the EU single market. In the meantime, our trade with the EU would be unaffected, except that companies elsewhere in the EU may be less interested in buying from us or selling to us, expecting tariff barriers to go up in two years’ time. Whoever the Chancellor is, he or she may feel the need to bring in a new Budget

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Simon McDonald, Under-Secretary of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, tweeted a picture of Mr Johnson’s first meeting with staff as Foreign Secretary on Thursday.

“Over 800 came to Boris Johnson’s first all staff meeting [at the] Foreign Office. Standing room only. 1000s overseas listened in,” he wrote.

Foreign Secretary, short for Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, is one of the four most senior positions in the UK government.

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Boris Johnson says Brexit vote does not mean leaving Europe 'in any sense'

'There is a massive difference between leaving the EU and our relations with Europe'

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6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

More expensive foreign holidays

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

No immediate change in immigration status

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Higher inflation

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Interest rates might rise

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Did somebody say recession?

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

And we wouldn’t even get our money back

Join our commenting forum