.London Mayor's decision to back Brexit will electrify the EU campaign
- .David Cameron used live TV interview to plead him to join In camp
- .BoJo admitted he had been 'veering like a shopping trolley' over decision
- .He joins six Cabinet ministers and 144 Tory MPs backing Brexit
Boris Johnson will campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, it emerged this afternoon, despite a last ditch attempt by David Cameron to persuade him to join the In camp.
In a major development a day after the June 23 referendum was called, the Mayor of London will tonight set out his reasons for joining six Cabinet ministers in rebelling against the Prime Minister to back Brexit.
His announcement will electrify the EU referendum and hand the Out campaign a major boost.
But Mr Cameron was said to be 'absolutely furious' with Mr Johnson and the decision is a big gamble for the London Mayor, who was being lined up for a major Cabinet position following the referendum.
Boris Johnson, pictured arriving at his home in north London this afternoon, will join the Out campaign tonight, according to reports
The Mayor of London left his south Oxfordshire home early this afternoon - shortly after David Cameron had warned him not to 'link arms with Nigel Farage and George Galloway' by joining the Out campaign
Mr Johnson decided to back the Out campaign this afternoon, according to the BBC, and will confirm his decision later tonight.
Brexit campaigners will now attempt to persuade him to lead the Leave campaign.
His decision could have a major impact on the outcome of the referendum.
A poll last week found that one in three people viewed his decision as 'important' in helping them decide which way to vote in the referendum - making his voice the second most influential politician after Mr Cameron.
His decision comes despite Mr Cameron using a live TV interview to warn him against 'linking arms with Nigel Farage and George Galloway and taking a leap into the dark'.
Sources close to the Mayor of London revealed that he had admitted to 'veering like a shopping trolley' over which side of the referendum campaign to join.
David Cameron, pictured with Boris Johnson during many pubilc appearances together during the 2012 London Olymipcs, was said to be 'absolutely furious' with Mr Johnson and the decision is a big gamble for the London Mayor, who was being lined up for a major Cabinet position following the referendum
Boris Johnson is mobbed by photographers as he arrives at his Islington home this afternoon. His decision to join the Out campaign will electrify the referendum and deliver a major boost to those backing Brexit
The Mayor of London, pictured outside his London home this afternoon, will have a significant impact on how the British public votes in the EU referendum, according to a poll last week
His sister, Rachel Johnson, this morning rejected accusations that voting for Brexit would be a 'betraying' Londoners, insisting his decision was 'enormously difficult' and predicted his announcement would have a 'very significant' on the referendum result.
Vote Leave campaigners deliver an umbrella and hat to Boris Johnson's home in Islington this afternoon after news that he will campaign to leave the EU
'This is an enormously complicated decision for everybody… his participation in either camp is going to be very significant and this this is why he's taking so long to decide,' she told Sky News.
Mr Johnson was helped by the man hoping to succeed him as Mayor of London - the Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith, who last night said he was backing the Brexit campaign.
The Prime Minister said this morning: 'I would say to Boris what I'd say to everybody else: We will be safer, we'll be stronger, we'll be better off inside the EU.
'I think the prospect of linking arms with Nigel Farage and George Galloway and taking a leap into the dark is the wrong step for our country and if Boris, if others really care about being able to get things done in our world, then the EU is one of the ways in which we get them done.'
'We're members of Nato, we're members of the UN, we're members of the IMF, I care about Britain being able to fix stuff – whether it's stopping pirates off the African coast, whether it's closing down illegal migration routes, closing down smugglers, whether it's standing up to Vladimir Putin with sanctions, whether it's the sanctions we put in place to get Iran to abandon its nuclear plan – having that seat in the EU, just as being a member of Nato is a vital way that we project our values, our power and our influence in the world.'
A Conservative party source told the Sunday Times that Mr Cameron was 'absolutely furious with Boris'.
'He has had all the perks, visits to Downing Street and he still won't commit.'
It comes on a day when the referendum campaign kicked off in earnest, with Mr Cameron declaring war on his own Eurosceptic Cabinet ministers by accusing them of misleading the public over claims that leaving the EU would win back control over immigration.
Pro-Brexit Cabinet ministers challenged the Prime Minister's EU deal today and Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Welfare Secretary, directly contradicted Mr Cameron over claims that Britain is 'safer and stronger' in the EU.
He warned that remaining a member of the EU would make a Paris-style terror attack in the UK more likely.
'This open border does not allow us to check and control people that may come and spend time,' he told the BBC today.
'We've seen what happened in Paris where they spent ages planning and plotting so who's to say it's not beyond the wit of man that those might already be thinking about that.'
Asked by the BBC whether staying in the EU made the UK more susceptible to Paris-style attacks, he replied: 'I think the present status of the open border we have right now many of us feel does actually leave that door open and we need to see that resolved.'
Mr Goldsmith said last night: 'Greater London isn't a minor appendage to the EU. 'It is a global city, with global reach. 'We dominate in financial services, tech, media, culture and much more besides. London will flourish whatever the outcome of the referendum.'
ONE IN FOUR TORY MEPS WILL REBEL AGAINST CAMERON AND BACK BREXIT
Five of the 20 Conservatives who sit in the European Parliament have informed the Prime Minister they will vote to Leave despite his renegotiation deal
A quarter of Tory MEPs will defy David Cameron by campaigning for Brexit, it has been revealed.
Five of the 20 Conservatives who sit in the European Parliament have informed the Prime Minister they will vote to Leave despite his renegotiation deal. A further three are yet to make up their minds.
Ashley Fox, the leader of the Tory group in the Brussels, yesterday said Mr Cameron had made clear to MEPs there would be 'no recriminations' for their decisions.
The MEP for the south west and Gibraltar said the Prime Minister had not asked for enough in his renegotiation, but said he would vote for the country to remain an EU member to ensure continued access to the single market.
During the renegotiation, Mr Fox privately urged Mr Cameron 'to go as far as he could' with his demands and wanted him to get back national control of employment regulations such as the working time directive.
But he said Mr Cameron had been hampered by the reluctance of other countries to revise the EU's founding treaties.
'I wish we had achieved more in the renegotiation. I think what the Prime Minister has achieved are useful improvements to our membership, but I would have liked to have seen more demands in the first place and a larger repatriation of powers to the UK,' he said.
'It has been a difficult decision, but we now face a binary choice, it's either in or out, so there's no point now saying 'oh, I wish this had happened'.
'I have come down on the Remain side. In my constituency I have Rolls-Royce, Honda and Airbus and it's critically important that they have full access to the single market. I believe that leaving puts that at risk.'
Mr Fox said that in meetings with MEPs, Mr Cameron had 'made clear that after the referendum the Conservative party has to come together'.
'Of course he wants his MPs and MEPs to support him, but he's also been clear there is not some dreadful threat hanging over us if we go for Leave,' he added.
Eurosceptic Tory MEPs Dan Hannan and David Campbell-Bannerman are expected to play a leading role in the campaign for Brexit, alongside Amjad Bashir, who defected from Ukip in January last year.
SOUND-BITE DAVE: VOTERS WARNED FOR AVALANCHE OF KEY SLOGANS FROM PM
David Cameron, pictured on the Andrew Marr Show this morning, said THE slogan 'safer, stronger, better off' nine times during his interview
Voters have been warned to expect a four month campaign of soundbites as David Cameron repeatedly uses a handful of key phrases to try and convince people the country would be less safe if we left the EU.
In the 48 hours after being handed his renegotiation deal in Brussels, the former PR man deployed the carefully crafted soundbites over and over again as he hit the airwaves to set out his referendum stall.
During a 20-minute interview on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show today the Prime Minister three times warned that a vote to leave would be a 'leap in the dark'.
Mr Cameron also used the phrase, which is expected to be a cornerstone of the In campaign that has been nicknamed 'Project Fear', in a speech in Brussels on Friday night and again the next morning in Downing Street as he announced the date of the referendum.
In the three appearances, which were all televised, Mr Cameron used the slogan 'safer, stronger, better off', nine times – including twice in the address outside Number 10 that lasted only four minutes.
He separately used the words 'safe' and 'safer' another eleven times.
Despite failing to secure the curbs to migrant benefits promised at the election in the Tory manifesto, Mr Cameron repeated the expression 'something for nothing' six times as he attempted to sell the changes he did get that will stop newcomers being able to claim tax credits from day one.
Mr Cameron also delivered the catchphrase 'the best of both worlds' six times and 'strength in numbers' three times.
In a round of television and radio appearances at breakfast time on Saturday, Chancellor George Osborne continually used the phrases as well.
During the last parliament in the run up to last year's election, Mr Cameron deployed the phrase 'long-term economic plan' so many times it became a standing joke in Westminster.
Mr Cameron rarely resisted the opportunity to shoehorn several mentions of it into his appearances at Prime Minister's Questions.
By repeating his referendum soundbites ad nauseum, Mr Cameron is no doubt hoping to get the messages lodged in the public's consciousness in the run up to the vote on 23 June.
It is thought the short sharp messaging will have been tested in focus groups.
NOW YOU DECIDE: YOUR AT A GLANCE GUIDE TO HOW JUNE 23 REFERENDUM WILL WORK
David Cameron, pictured on the Andrew Marr Show this morning, said holding the EU referendum was an act of sovereignty in itself as he hailed his EU deal reached with European leaders late on Friday evening
With the opinion polls see-sawing – and up to 40 per cent of voters saying they could change their mind between now and June 23 – the EU referendum is up for grabs.
Harold Macmillan famously declared that 'events, dear boy, events' were the biggest threat to a leader's plans. Now, another Conservative Prime Minister will be hoping the historic vote is not decided by factors beyond Downing Street's control...
MIGRATION
Last summer's migrant crisis, which saw hundreds of thousands of Syrians and North Africans making the perilous journey by boat to Europe, triggered a boost in the polls for the Out camp.
Reports that the same migrants were responsible for sex attacks in Germany, while others were living in the 'Jungle' camp at Calais, increased the impact.
Last year, an astonishing 1.83 million people illegally entered the EU, over six times as many as the previous year.
This is why Downing Street was so keen to hold the referendum in June. The next possible date was after the summer, by which time the migrant situation could have deteriorated even further.
This year's crisis is predicted to be even more serious than last year. If so, it could hand victory to the 'Out' campaign.
JOBS
David Cameron needs Chancellor George Osborne – who is also the Government supremo trying to engineer a win for the 'In' campaigners – to deliver a feelgood Budget in May. If voters are positive about their personal financial circumstances, they are less likely to vote for change.
More important will be the performance of the wider EU economy. A repeat of the eurozone crisis of two years ago, when Greece and other southern European governments were on the brink of collapse, would reinforce the notion that Britain's economy would thrive outside the bloc – and with it a burst of job creation.
'In' campaigners will insist that British jobs are heavily tied to our trade links with our EU partners.
In a speech yesterday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: 'Being part of Europe has brought Britain investment, jobs and protection for workers.'
But 'Out' campaigners will highlight sluggish growth rates across the EU as a reason to break free.
SECURITY
Downing Street is planning to claim that if Britain leaves the EU, we will be less protected against threats such as Putin's Russia because hostile powers are intimidated by the unity of the 28-state EU. 'Out' campaigners will counter this argument by highlighting the security risks presented by lax border controls.
The terror attacks in Paris last November accentuated these fears, particularly after it was revealed that some of the perpetrators had posed as migrants to enter Europe.
Home Secretary Theresa May has argued that being part of the EU is a major benefit to British security services as a result of cross-border intelligence sharing and valuable reciprocal agreements such as the European Arrest Warrant.
SOVEREIGNTY
Cameron has tried to win over London Mayor Boris Johnson to the 'In' campaign by promising to enshrine in British law a pledge guaranteeing the ultimate supremacy of Parliament over Brussels – and hopes voters will also be persuaded.
The Prime Minister was today expected to promise to make clear that the British Supreme Court outranks the European Court of Justice, similar to an idea first put forward by Johnson last year as the price for his support for the 'In' group.
He says it is critical the sovereignty of the House of Commons is 'put beyond doubt'.
Legal experts say the move is pointless as Parliament already has the power to ignore EU law if it chooses to, it is just that the sheer volume of Brussels legislation makes it impractical – but it may have some impact on voters' sentiment due to the 'political theatre' it represents.
INFLUENCE
The Prime Minister is planning to make British influence on the world stage a key strand of his campaign – arguing that we have far more clout combined with our EU partners, rather than as a 'lone wolf'. It explains the slogan of the 'In' campaign group: 'Britain Stronger in Europe.'
The arguments will be played out whenever a diplomatic crisis strikes, such as attempts to settle the war in Syria, but are likely to pivot on economic considerations.
The 'In' camp says that Britain is better able to open up new trade markets by acting with other EU countries. The 'Out' camp says British businesses are dragged down by Brussels' red tape and would flourish by forging fresh alliances within the Commonwealth.
They say our influence within the EU is illusory because we are routinely outvoted on important decisions in Brussels, winning only eight per cent of the votes on vital EU decisions.
RISK
The 'In' camp believes its trump card is 'Project Fear' – making sure voters are too frightened to make a 'leap in the dark' and instead plump for the security of the status quo.
They will say we cannot risk being cut off by our EU partners.
'Out' campaigners will argue the UK is risking its future by being subservient to Brussels and make reassuring noises about life outside the EU. As leading 'Outer', Cabinet Minister Chris Grayling said yesterday: 'Does anybody actually think that on the day after Britain leaves the EU, the Germans are going to turn around and say, 'We're not going to sell you BMWs any more'?
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