Lord Mandelson: ‘Brexiteers hate foreigners’

Lord Mandelson has claimed that Brexiteers are “nationalists” who “hate other countries and hate foreigners”.

The Labour peer, a former trade commissioner in Brussels, told LBC’s James O’Brien that it is “important not to confuse nationalism with patriotism”, and referred to Leave voters as “Brextremists”.

“Patriotism is love of your country. Wanting to stand up for your country, wanting to serve the best interests of your country,” said Mandelson.

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“Nationalism, on the other hand, is a hatred of foreigners, and that’s what they [Brexiteers] are. They are nationalists and they should not be confused with patriots. I feel I am patriotic. I want the best for Britain - it’s why I voted Remain in the referendum, though I entirely respect the contrary view of many others.

“These Brextremists are not like that. They are nationalists in the sense that they hate other countries, and they hate foreigners. And that is, in my view, what motivates them and drives their behaviour.”

Mandelson believes that the “Eurosceptic backlash against the prime minister’s Chequers compromise” has “proved the need for a second referendum”, reports The Daily Telegraph.

But a spokesperson for Theresa May insisted that there would be no second vote “in any circumstances”, after being asked about the Labour peer’s comments, says Sky News.

Meanwhile, Brexiteers have condemned Mandelson. Nigel Evans, a Eurosceptic Conservative MP, said: “His incendiary description is an appalling attack. He should take his hefty EU pension, which hard-pressed British taxpayers are guaranteeing and paying post-Brexit, and go and live in Brussels where he will clearly feel more at home. He and his distasteful views will not be missed.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a key figure in the Leave campaign in 2016, said: “Perhaps Lord Mandelson should not confuse truth with fiction. It is regrettably something he has had difficulty with throughout his career.”

O’Brien’s fellow LBC presenter Iain Dale, an outspoken Eurosceptic, said that he felt “quite personally insulted” by Mandelson’s comments. “I don’t know anyone that voted Leave because they hate foreigners, I don't know anyone who voted Leave because they are extreme nationalists,” Dale said.

However, he conceded: “There may well be some that did. Just because I don’t know them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”