EU referendum: Boris Johnson slams Prime Minister David Cameron over EU red card
Prime Minister David Cameron may be claiming victory on a key piece of his European Union reform agenda today, but mayor of London Boris Johnson seemed less than impressed when asked about Cameron's renegotiation efforts this morning.
A draft agreement tabled by European Council President Donald Tusk this afternoon includes a new so-called red card for national national parliaments, allowing member states to block unnecessary or unwanted EU legislation. Cameron had promised to pursue a red card in his manifesto ahead of last year's General Election.
Read more: Here's the full draft agreement for the UK-EU reform deal
Tusk’s draft includes proposals for a red card that could be triggered up to three months weeks after a draft EU law is proposed. Under the plan, if 55 per cent of national parliaments agree, they can either force the council to amend the EU legislation or stop the law from being implemented altogether.
But Johnson told LBC Radio this morning: "I think what would be better would be if we had a brake of our own, that we were willing to use."
He added: "And that we were more willing to say, look, Britain is an independent sovereign country and we don’t agree with this particular piece of legislation or regulation and we want to stop it, and that’s what we should be able to do."
"What everybody would want is to see more progress and let's see where we get," Johnson said. "I think there is much, much more however that needs to be done."
Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn complicated Cameron's morning by requesting an urgent question in the House of Commons on the EU renegotiations
Commons Speaker John Bercow agreed to the urgent question, which is scheduled to take place at 12:30PM – but it is unlikely Cameron will be in the Commons to answer it.
Cameron had been expected to deliver a speech in the West Country this afternoon, with a full statement to parliament scheduled for tomorrow.