Johnson compares EU to a ‘prison’ and says that Government officials have ‘Stockholm syndrome’ in Andrew Marr interview

LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson paid a visit to the BBC headquarters on Sunday (March 6) where he participated in a candid chat with Andrew Marr. During the interview Johnson once again urged voters to take a leap of faith and look towards the future by exiting the EU once and for all in June.

Johnson likened the situation of the EU to ‘a prison’ and compared Britain’s place within it to a case of Stockholm Syndrome, in which British government officials are scared to take a chance on an EU exit because they have grown complacent with the existing situation and too scared of what lays outside the door.

He said that the EU referendum was like “the jailor has accidentally left the door open and people can see the sunlit lands beyond.”

Johnson acknowledged that there could be economic fallout as a result of Brexit, but was also quick to point out that this was not necessarily a given, and added that Britain’s exit from the EU would be “a huge weight lifted from British business.”

He also took the opportunity to once again argue that in the event of a defeat in June, David Cameron would not necessarily have to step down.

Johnson said, “to the best of my knowledge there is not a single EU leader in the last 20 years who has had to step down as a result of a referendum, whether in Europe or not.”

“I think the whole thing is a load of cobblers,” he added.