Johnson to Hail Hope and Opportunity of Brexit Just as U.K. Leaves EU
Johnson to Hail Hope and Opportunity of Brexit Just as U.K. Leaves EU
(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a speech to the nation at 10 p.m. on Friday -- an hour before the country leaves the European Union.
After three years of political turmoil over Brexit, Johnson said finally leaving the bloc will be “a great moment for our country”. It will be a time of “hope and opportunity” and a chance to come together, he said in a Facebook broadcast released by his office.
The prime minister said he will mark the moment in a way that’s “mindful” of the nation’s divisions over breaking with the bloc. His Conservative Party has spent decades divided over the U.K.’s relationship with the EU and even Johnson’s own family has been split. Last year his brother Jo quit the cabinet over the premier’s Brexit plans.
“I will be celebrating in a way that I hope is respectful of the scale of the event, that does justice to the astonishing feat that Britain has accomplished, but also is mindful or everybody’s feelings about what we are doing,” he said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net;Olivia Konotey-Ahulu in London at okonoteyahul@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Robert Hutton
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