Chichester MP challenges Boris Johnson over talking '˜mountains of nonsense' on EU

As chair of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee Andrew Tyrie questioned Mr Johnson’s previous statements on ‘ludicrous EU rules’ which he said banned reusing teabags and allowing young children to blow up balloons.

My Johnson argued they had to leave the EU to get their money back, to stop the UK’s democracy from being undermined, and said they had to ‘level with the British public’ about the ‘fundamental dishonesty’ that they were not signed up to a free-trade arrangement but rather part of a political project.

Although he welcomed the opportunity to clear up some of the things he had said on the EU, it was up to the Remain campaign and their ‘running dogs’ In Facts to explain how they were ‘so stunningly wrong’.

But he was interrupted by Mr Tyrie, who said: “You are in danger of going back to delivering us grains of truth with mountains of nonsense again, I’m afraid.

“You were dangerously close to making some very considered points a moment ago.”

Mr Johnson said that an EU press release said that adult supervision is required ‘in the case of uninflated balloons’ when used by children under eight, while Cardiff Council had interpreted the EU’s animal by-products regulations, which stated that things that had come into contact with milk or meat could not be recycled, by forbidding people to reuse teabags.

But Mr Tyrie pointed out that the directive only called for a warning to be placed on balloons’ packaging, while on teabags he explained that authorities or countries could choose whether or not to follow that particular regulation.

At the start of Wednesday’s session Mr Tyrie explained that he knew Mr Johnson ‘extremely well’ as they used to be based in adjacent offices.

He said he was ‘very grateful’ for Mr Johnson staying for three hours to answer the committee’s questions.

A referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU will be held on June 23.

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