Boris Johnson tells fibs. We’ve collated 11 of his favourites - and our rebuttals of them - so you can pounce on them as they drip from his lips. (thread)
Johnson won’t “get Brexit done”
He has only done the divorce deal. Nailing down a trade agreement will take years. Day after day, year after year, we'll wake up to news about Brexit. The only way to stop this is to beat the Tories and stop Brexit. infacts.org/its-johnsons-b… 1/11
PM won’t get a great trade deal in super-fast time. He says we can get a ‘Super Canada Plus’ free trade deal with the EU without following its rules. This is cake-and-eat-it nonsense. infacts.org/supercanada-gi… 2/11
EU citizens aren’t scrounging on the NHS. In fact, they contribute more to the public finances than Brits - and we get the right to use other EU countries’ health systems too. infacts.org/eu-citizens-ar… 3/11
Johnson wrongly says that EU and non-EU migration are equal in size. It's only a quarter of the size. Strange that, as he weaponises migration, he can’t get the basic facts straight. infacts.org/johnson-inflat… 4/11
We don’t need to leave the EU to scrap the tampon tax. The PM wrongly gives the tampon tax as a reason for Brexit. The EU wants to change VAT regime to allow zero rate for sanitary products. infacts.org/we-dont-need-t… 5/11
Johnson falsely claims his withdrawal agreement means workers’ rights will never be inferior to those in the EU - and that consumer and environmental rights are guaranteed too. infacts.org/workers-rights… 6/11
PM says we’ll take back control of our “marine wealth”. But he has agreed with the EU to try to cut a new fisheries agreement by July. infacts.org/johnsons-fishy… 7/11
Johnson’s partner in the Vote Leave campaign, Michael Gove, says Brits will be less safe if we have free movement. In fact, we’ll keep the European Arrest Warrant and other crime-fighting tools. infacts.org/brits-will-be-… 8/11
PM says there won’t be checks on goods in the Irish Sea in either direction. But he has agreed that Northern Ireland will follow hundreds of EU rules to do with customs etc. infacts.org/goods-from-gb-… 9/11
Johnson falsely claims the deal he’s done for Northern Ireland is temporary, evaporates or will be superseded by a trade deal. infacts.org/northern-irela… 10/11
The PM says Northern Ireland can benefits from new UK trade deal. But it can only benefit from if they don’t prejudice the “Protocol” Johnson agreed with the EU. infacts.org/n-ireland-may-… 11/11
The PM steamrollered Andrew Marr in his interview today. Here are 16 Brexit questions that could skewer him if the tougher Andrew Neil ever gets his chance – although the BBC’s craven decision to let Johnson onto Marr without committing to Neil makes that less likely. (thread)
1. "You say it’s 'absolutely vital' for politicians to tell the truth. So why do you tell so many lies?"
Here is our guide to Johnson’s lies, deceits, broken promises, attempts to silence Parliament and more. infacts.org/seven-ways-bor…
2. "It’s a lie that you’ll get Brexit done, isn’t it?"
Here’s our analysis of why voting for the Tories won’t put an end to Brexit. The fastest way to stop talking about Brexit is to have a new referendum and stay in the EU. infacts.org/johnsons-bigge…
Johnson told at least 5 Brexit lies in his Marr interview. Biggest is that he'll get Brexit done. No, he won't. Here's our rebuttal. (4 other lies and rebuttals follow in thread) 1/ infacts.org/johnsons-bigge…
PM said there won't be checks on goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain. There will. 2/ infacts.org/goods-from-gb-…
Johnson said that if Northern Ireland doesn't like following EU rules, it can stop. That's only if a majority in Stormont votes to nix them - and the chance of that is virtually nil. 3/infacts.org/northern-irela…
Another big Johnson lie. He says in his manifesto we won’t be a rule-taker, but has agreed the opposite in the draft deal he plans to nail down with the EU by end of next year. Both can't be correct. (thread) 1/
The manifesto is categorical: “There will be no political alignment with the EU” (See page 5). If that’s not supposed to mean no regulatory alignment, what on earth does it mean? 2/
But Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement turns Northern Ireland into what he used to term an "EU colony” - and his political declaration sketching out our future relationship is also a rule-taker’s charter. 3/
Johnson’s biggest lie is that he’ll get Brexit done. Here are 8 reasons why voting for the Tories won’t put an end to Brexit. (thread)
Johnson boasts about his “great new deal”. In fact, his Withdrawal Agreement is a “surrender deal” which gives the EU pretty much everything it wants. What’s more, it only covers our divorce. Talks on our future relationship will only start in earnest if and when we leave. 1/
If Johnson wins, he'll have to decide whether to extend the “transition”. Doing so wouldn't just break his word; he would have to pay the EU at least £1 billion a month NET. All this would have to be agreed by July 1. 2/
Johnson gets 2 facts wrong and scores own goal on Northern Ireland in a speech to local activists yesterday. Thread 1/
PM said: “There will not be tariffs or checks on goods coming from GB to NI that are not going on to Ireland.” But new Protocol makes clear that Northern Ireland will follow hundreds of EU rules to do with customs and movement of goods. (see Annex 2) 2/
Among these is a 101 page document “laying down the Union Customs Code” (UCC). (Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 ) 3/
Johnson gave 6 shifty answers to @SophyRidgeSky. As she rightly put it: "Why would anyone trust anything you say?" Here's a thread exposing the PM's latest catalogue of falsehoods 1/
@SophyRidgeSky Johnson said he’d done a “great new deal”. No he hasn’t. His divorce deal turns Northern Ireland into an EU colony and makes Great Britain poorer and less powerful than it would otherwise be. This is a rotten deal the country will regret for decades. 2/
@SophyRidgeSky PM said his deal would “get Brexit done” and end uncertainty. Untrue again. All he has done is the divorce deal with the EU. He hasn’t even started talking about a trade agreement with the bloc. The EU took 6/7 years to complete trade deals with Canada and Japan. 3/