The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has jetted over to Brussels to meet Chief EU Negotiator Michel Barnier with other meetings arranged with senior EU officials.
He has apparently urged EU leaders to start preparing to extend Article 50 and delay Brexit until a second referendum can be held or a new government formed to “reset” negotiations.
After the meeting Khan was beaming with pride and appeared to be enjoying the international limelight. He intimated that it was refreshing to speak with Barnier as he ‘was prepared to listen’.
Khan said:
It was really important to engage with him, to express to him the different views there are in our country. Theresa May doesn’t speak for the entire country when she talks about a bad Brexit deal or no deal whatsoever.
I genuinely believe there is time for a better deal to be done. I genuinely believe there is a generosity, a goodwill on the part of the EU.
My job is to also lobby my government to make sure they understand the consequences of a bad Brexit deal or or, even worse, no deal whatsoever.”
Mr Khan was expected to tell the EU’s chief negotiator when they meet in Brussels on Friday that an extension is in the interests of both sides to avert a “political and economic crisis”.
Before the meeting Khan had also said:
What happens over the coming weeks and months will have an enormous impact on London, the UK and all of Europe for many decades to come. It’s now extremely likely that Parliament will vote down any bad deal negotiated by Theresa May, which means it will be in the best interests of both the UK and the EU to extend Article 50 in order to leave time for either a public vote or for a new government to reset the negotiations.
London and Europe are inextricably linked. Europe’s biggest businesses are huge investors in the UK economy, they depend heavily on the UK market and rely enormously on the strength of the City for financing.
London’s success has been good for the UK and good for Europe. With so much at stake for both the UK and the EU – and with the British Government heading towards a defeat in Parliament – I hope Michel Barnier and the EU will agree to start preparing now to extend Article 50 so that we can avert a political and economic crisis that could have enormous repercussions for all of Europe.”
London voted heavily in favour of Remain in the 2016 referendum, but his backing for a second vote on whether to quit the EU has seen him go back on his word when he previously said he was against this. Khan is also due to visit Paris, Berlin and Dublin before the end of the year to promote London ahead of Brexit.
This comes as Khan comes under increasing pressure over the massive crimewave hitting the capital city that has seen the murder rate in London now overtake that of New York.
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