Isis leader might be happy if Britain left the EU, David Cameron claims

The Prime Minister claimed Abu Bakr al-Baghadi could be happy with Brexit
AFP/Getty Images
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David Cameron risked fresh controversy today by claiming Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi might be happy if Britain quits the EU.

He denied saying that if the country votes for Brexit on June 23 that a third world war would break out, but at a Q&A session after a speech at Mansion House, he suggested that Vladimir Putin and al-Baghdadi might be pleased by the UK leaving the union.

He said: “Putin might be happy, al-Baghdadi might be happy.”

He quashed the idea of a second referendum and said: “This is a once in a generation, once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Mr Cameron also attacked Boris Johnson and Leave campaigners for peddling “myths” about the EU, accusing them of misleading people by saying only a tiny percentage of UK businesses export to EU, when he claimed that three million jobs were linked to the union.

Bold claim: David Cameron 
Peter Byrne/PA Wire

Mr Johnson accused Mr Cameron of being involved in the “biggest stitch-up since the Bayeux Tapestry” after a leaked letter revealed Mr Cameron was asking company bosses to list the “risks of Brexit” as a danger in company accounts released in the next month.

Earlier, Nigel Farage conceded the possibility of a “narrow” defeat for the campaign to quit the European Union and said there would be pressure for a second referendum. The Ukip leader dismayed the official Leave campaign by straying from their line that they will accept the result of the June 23 vote.

He told the BBC: “If we were to lose narrowly, there’d be a large section, particularly in the Conservative Party, who’d feel the Prime Minister is not playing fair, that the Remain side is using way more money than the Leave side and there would be a resentment that would build up if that was to be the result.”

Polls suggest a close result is likely. Mr Johnson pointedly refused to back Mr Farage’s stance on a second referendum. “We are going to go ahead and win first time round,” he said.

Meanwhile, leading Brexit campaigner, energy minister Andrea Leadsom said: “Leaving the EU will give us freedom to keep bills down, to meet our climate change targets in the cheapest way possible.”

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