LONDON, United Kingdom - President Obama is visiting the UK this week because the British Prime Minister asked him to bully voters into backing European Union Membership, according to a former Conservative Leader.
Iain Duncan-Smith, who led the party from 2001 to 2003, said David Cameron had begged Obama "on bended knee" for help to "bully the British people" in the upcoming referendum.
Obama is expected to arrive in London on Thursday, he will see HM The Queen as part of her 90th birthday celebrations, but has also indicated he will give his views on Britain’s EU membership.
The president's intervention has already been described as “hypocritical” by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, because the USA would never cede powers to a foreign government.
Duncan Smith said: “It’s inconceivable that the president of the United States would be asking to do exactly the same for the USA as now appears to be the case, or might be the case, for him to advise the UK to do with regard the EU.
“On June 23, I think the British people will be advised to vote to get Britain to look a little bit more like the US and a lot less like it does at the moment with regard to the power of the EU.”
“I don’t quite understand why any American president would want Britain to be any other way - unless of course they want the US to join the EU too. Maybe that is the subtext of the speech or comments about to be made.”
He later told the Daily Telegraph: "Let's cut all the rubbish out of the way, he's doing it because the Prime Minister has gone on bended knee to him and said, 'come over and help us bully the British people into making a decision.”
The intervention by Obama comes as tensions ahead of the referendum rose significantly after the government wrote to every British household advising them to vote to remain in the EU. The move came despite the prime minister promising in advance that government departments would be neutral.
Today the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, joined three cabinet colleagues to launch a Treasury report claiming families would lose $6000 a year if Britain regained its independence. However, the claims were branded ‘project fear’ by Brexit campaigners.
Vote Leave claims the government is getting desperate because the prime minister had hoped ‘remain’ would be a long way ahead by now. In fact the polls are either neck-and-neck or within the margin of error.
The referendum is being held of June 23rd because a large influx of North Africans are expected to arrive in Europe over the summer. The prime minister is said to believe the referendum could not be won after the latest wave of illegal immigrants.
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