AFP, LONDON: US President Barack Obama plunged into Britain’s increasingly poisonous EU debate on Friday at the start of a visit, warning strongly against Brexit and pointing out that US soldiers had died for Europe.
Obama’s intervention ahead of the EU referendum in June drew a furious response from eurosceptics like London Mayor Boris Johnson and UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who said he should “butt out”.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, a traditional bastion of euroscepticism, Obama argued that Britain’s place in the EU magnified its global influence and was a matter of “deep interest” to the United States.
“I realise that there’s been considerable speculation—and some controversy—about the timing of my visit,” Obama wrote.
Stressing that the choice was purely for the British people, he wrote: “I will say, with the candour of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States.
“Tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europe’s cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are.
“And the path you choose now will echo in the prospects of today’s generation of Americans.”
The issue of Brexit is likely to surface again at talks with Prime Minister David Cameron later on Friday, to be followed by a press conference.
Ahead of the meeting, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth II, who turned 90 on Thursday.
Obama’s intervention—an unusual foray into the domestic politics of another country—drew withering criticism from “Brexiteers”.
Johnson, the leading face of the eurosceptic campaign, said it was “downright hypocritical” of the US to intervene in the debate.
“For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy is a breathtaking example of the principle of do as I say, not as I do,” he said in a piece for the Sun, Britain’s top-selling tabloid.
Richard Whitman, professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kent, said Obama’s was “an unusually personal intervention”.
“He’s making a very strong appeal from the heart,” he said.