The Daily Express has sparked hundreds of reactions after claiming Boris Johnson will ‘unleash the benefits of Brexit’.
The newspaper’s comments come after the government announced it will push forward a “Brexit Freedoms Bill”, which will scrap all unwanted EU law using subtle regulations, rather than allowing full parliamentary scrutiny.
The Express argued scrapping the EU “red tape” will save UK firms £1 billion a year, just as pressure mounts over queues faced by lorries in the Dover port since new Brexit rules kicked in last month – one of the quietest months in the year for trade -, affecting timely deliveries.
But the newspaper claimed the prime minister is “fighting against critics” with a “blitz on outdated EU red tape”.
Reactions
Needless to say, the portrayal did not go unnoticed – with lawyer and filmmaker Peter Stefanovic asking if the Express clocked in the new financial hit UK people are about to take.
“I wonder if Daily Express readers have noticed Boris Johnson has just hiked their taxes to a 70 year high to help pay for the NHS after he promised a massive Brexit dividend of £350m a week if we left the European Union,” Stefanovic said.
Meanwhile, pro-EU campaigner Dr Mike Galsworthy said: “UNLEASH the vapid promises! Again? Yes, again! Unleash the foghorn of vows and promises again!”
LBC presenter James O’Brien also reacted to the news, saying the ‘Brexit benefits’ will “not involve anything that has actually happened.”
“They will all be promises of amazing things that will happen in the future. Such things. Like Lear ranting on the heath,” he added.
Tory MP stepped out of vehicle to assess Brexit lorry queues – in human poo.
Author Ian Dunt also jumped in at the sight of the front page.
“What, more? We’ve already had severe labour shortages, a tsunami of bureaucracy and national division. Surely that’s enough joy for now,” he noted.
And writer James Felton joked about a Tory MP who went to assess post-Brexit lorry queues in Dover, only to step in human poo when getting out of the vehicle.
“He means more people are going to tread in human shit on the A2,” Felton said.
Sue Gray report
The front page comes as things are heating up for Boris Johnson’s Tory government amid shy revelations in a report over alleged government parties during Covid restrictions.
A report produced by senior civil servant Sue Gray catalogued a series of “failures of leadership and judgment” within No 10 and the Cabinet Office while England was under coronavirus restrictions in 2020 and 2021.
But she was unable to provide meaningful findings because the police were now investigating at least 12 gatherings linked to government properties in Downing Street and Whitehall.
They include a “gathering in the No 10 Downing Street flat” on November 13 2020, the night Johnson’s former aides Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain left their roles.
In December, Johnson told MPs that no “gathering” had taken place on that date.
Questioned in the House of Commons on whether the event took place, the prime minister said: “No, but I am sure that whatever happened, the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times.”
Related: WATCH: Theresa May launches withering Commons attack on Boris Johnson