Ex-UK PM David Cameron calls Brexit ‘a mistake, not a disaster’ in unguarded Davos comments
Britain’s planned departure from the European Union is “a mistake, not a disaster”, former premier David Cameron said in unguarded comments during a conversation caught on camera in Davos on Wednesday.
Cameron stepped back from frontline British politics in the wake of the historic 2016 referendum, but was caught airing his views on Brexit at Switzerland’s gathering of the world’s business elite.
The former prime minister said leaving the EU had not been as catastrophic as predicted. Speaking to the steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, Cameron said the process of leaving the EU was “still going to be difficult”.
The man who called the EU referendum says what he really thinks about Brexit...
In the corridors of the @wef, @David_Cameron is overheard speaking with business and political leaders from around the world - and they're all asking about Brexit. #WEF18 pic.twitter.com/z1pcbUJ87A— 5News (@5_News) January 24, 2018
In footage from Channel 5 News, Mittal told Cameron he had heard “everyone is talking about Brexit”.
“Yes, well I know,” Cameron replied. “It’s frustrating. As I keep saying it’s a mistake, not a disaster. It’s turned out less badly than we first thought.”
“But it’s still going to be difficult,” he added.
Cameron orchestrated the vote on June 23, 2016, in which the country chose to leave the EU, despite himself backing the campaign to remain in the bloc.
