𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A French minister’s call for Britain to reverse Brexit and rejoin the European Union has triggered a furious response, with the bloc accused of seeing the UK as “a place to plunder”. Roland Lescure, France’s finance minister, urged Britons to rejoin the EU as Prime Minister Andy Burnham prepares to lay out options for the UK’s future relationship with Europe.

Mr Lescure urged the country to go “all the way” and rejoin, stressing that Britain can “come back any time”. He said the choice was for the people of the UK, but said Britain’s departure from the EU was “very sad”. Leading Brexiteer and former Thatcher aide Lord Redwood warned: “The UK cannot afford to rejoin the EU. It is a slow-growth zone weighed down by high taxes, big EU charges, large debts and too many anti-business rules.

“By leaving, we are saving billions each year on membership fees and do not have to pay for our share of the EU’s growing debt mountain. The EU sees us as Treasure Island, a place to plunder to help pay their excessive bills.”

Former defence secretary Dame Penny Mordaunt insisted it was not in Britain’s interests to become a member state again, saying: “Many European politicians miss having us in the EU, but any decision the UK takes about our future must be based on what is in our interests, and rejoining or taking any trade-inhibiting constraints is clearly not in our interests. So, non merci.”

David Campbell Bannerman, a former deputy leader of UKIP who served as an MEP, predicted there was more chance of France leaving the EU than Britain rejoining. “Actually, I am looking forward to welcoming France back as a proud independent sovereign nation again outside of the EU,” he said. “That is the direction of travel, not rejoin.” If France left, he said, it would “game over” for the bloc.

Christopher Howarth, who has worked at the heart of the European Research Group, warned: “The UK would have to pay tens of billions into the EU every year if it rejoined, accept EU laws and regulations, hand over its fish, drop all its own trade agreements and potentially join the euro. France, meanwhile, is engulfed with riots and is teetering on the edge of a financial crisis big enough to sink the euro. It’s no surprise France would now like to invite the UK to share in its mess.”

Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, said: “The British public had their say in 2016 and chose Brexit. They don’t want a return to free movement, and they definitely don’t want billions being sent to Brussels in return for suffocating rules and regulations, regardless of what the French say.”