Michael Gove admits 'moral cowardice' in Brexit campaign

Michael Gove has admitted he was “morally cowardly” for not telling David Cameron he planned to play a leading role in the Brexit referendum campaign.

during an interview political currency Speaking on the George Osborne and Ed Balls podcast, the upgrade secretary said he had been persuaded to accept more than Brexit campaign coordinator and former Boris Johnson aide Dominic Cummings had expected. Big job.

Osborne, the former Conservative finance minister who campaigned with Cameron to remain in the European Union, said that Gove told the then prime minister that he would not play a “significant role” in the Brexit campaign, but ended up becoming the most prominent figure among the Brexit campaign. One of the most eye-catching members.

He asked the pastor, “Did you deceive David? He did feel betrayed.”

Gove denied betraying the current foreign secretary and Tory colleagues, but added: “As I mentioned, I do think I could have made it clear earlier.

“I think this is an example of cowardice on the one hand and moral cowardice on the other hand, and I recognize that politically maybe there is a sense that maybe something will come up that maybe this moment won’t be when we have to do Come when the decision is made.

“But I think it’s entirely fair to say that David should have expected that I would come clean sooner.”

Mr Gove said one of the reasons he became more involved was because he was often told “if you don’t do it, they will” [Nigel] Farage on”.

“If Nigel were to run, Brexit would fail because he doesn’t have the skills,” he added.

Gove said he could not bear to see the result on the night of the 2016 referendum and did not learn the result until his wife woke him up the next morning.

By contrast, Mr Osborne stayed up all night waiting for the results because “things were getting worse and worse”.

He said he and other senior members of Cameron’s team walked into the prime minister’s office in the early hours and agreed he should resign.

He added: “Not only did I think, and still do, that this would be a disaster for my country, I just know it would be an absolute disaster for my career, which was basically my political career. It’s over. This is absolutely, the most painful day of my life in politics – in any part of my career.”

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Osborne also revealed that before the vote, he and Cameron considered “begging” then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel to make more concessions on immigration.

They decided against it because a leak would be “catastrophic” and they knew they “probably wouldn’t get it.”

Mr Gove’s revelations included that he began to doubt Mr Johnson’s suitability to be prime minister after attending a barbecue at his Oxfordshire home on the Sunday after the referendum result, when the former Tory leader and his team ” Relax in the sun” and say “everything will be fine”.

“That afternoon I started to wonder if Boris was taking this seriously,” he said.

Mr Gove then turned to Mr Johnson and took on the leadership role himself – in a contest that Theresa May ultimately won.

He told the podcast he made a mistake in doing so. The podcast is producing a mini-series about the referendum called The Brexit Conspiracy.

“I either don’t support him in the first place or I make the bed, you know, and continue to support him. Ultimately, if I’m going to quit, I shouldn’t run out of myself. I should say, ‘Listen, I’m so sorry .I no longer think he’s right’.”