Boris Johnson Repeats £350m For The NHS Claim In Telegraph Column

Is he eyeing up another leadership bid?

Boris Johnson has once again repeated the now-infamous claim that leaving the European Union will save £350 million a week.

In a 4,000-word column for the Daily Telegraph, the foreign secretary said set out his “vision for a bold, thriving Britain enabled by Brexit”.

In it, he said: “Once we have settled our accounts, we will take back control of roughly £350 million per week.

Boris Johnson in front of the battle bus plastered with the now-infamous £350m figure
Boris Johnson in front of the battle bus plastered with the now-infamous £350m figure
PA Wire/PA Images

“It would be a fine thing, as many of us have pointed out, if a lot of that money went on the NHS, provided we use that cash injection to modernise and make the most of new technology.”

The £350 million figure, most famously plastered across the Leave campaign bus, as been slammed by many as at best misleading and at worst simply dishonest.

Even the likes of Nigel Farage have tried to distance themselves from the figure.

According to the BBC, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Johnson’s words “dredge up the fantasy”.

The column prompted derision from many on social media...

Reading Boris Johnson's Beta Minus essay for Brexit. He's in a farce but thinks he's in an epic. The faux Cicero pretend PM. #Catiline

— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) September 16, 2017

It's almost reassuring, amid all the uncertainty and turmoil, to see Boris Johnson's overweening vanity so intact and ineluctable.

— James O'Brien (@mrjamesob) September 16, 2017

Johnson’s sudden intervention will be seen by many as a sign he may be considering a second leadership bid.

All this Jacob Rees-Mogg for Tory leader chat has clearly got to Boris Johnsonhttps://t.co/NmuinJc1pQ

— Chuka Umunna (@ChukaUmunna) September 16, 2017

The wheels came off his last attempt when Michael Gove broke his word and launched his own campaign.

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