Rachel Reeves has launched an fierce attack on Boris Johnson after he accused her and Keir Starmer of planning to overturn Brexit.
The former prime minister made the bizarre claim in an interview on GB News to promote his new memoir, Unleashed.
Johnson told presenter Camilla Tominey that the chancellor wanted to make the UK a “rule taker” when it comes to the European Union. However, he provided no evidence for his claim.
Starmer has said he wants to negotiate closer ties with the EU - but will not take the UK back into the single market, the customs union or re-introduce freedom of movement.
Johnson made his accusation as he hailed the UK’s successful Covid vaccine rollout when he was still in No.10 as an example of why Brexit has been a good thing.
He said: “If you look at what we did with the vaccine rollout, it was absolutely outstanding, and it’s very, very important to get this point ... because unless we keep that proper control, we won’t be able to do things like that again.
“So Rachel Reeves is now saying we’ve got to go back into being a rules taker from the EU.”
Tominey then asked Johnson: “Do you think Starmer and Reeves are trying to reverse Brexit?”
He replied: “This is the key point. Of course they are.”
Responding to his comments, a spokesman for the chancellor told HuffPost UK: “We’re not going to listen to a failed former prime minister who didn’t even read his own Brexit deal before signing it.
“The government is committed to resetting the relationship with the European Union, to strengthen ties, reinforce our security and tackle barriers to trade.”