Friday 13 January 2017

Nick Clegg admits he lied about the Queen supporting Brexit

Nick Clegg has admitted lying about the Queen's criticism of the EU in the run-up to the referendum.

The Sun ran a story during the referendum campaign saying that the Queen had expressed support for Brexit in a meeting with Nick Clegg when he was Deputy Prime Minister. She reportedly complained that the EU had overshadowed the Commonwealth and didn't know why we couldn't just leave.

Clegg initially said he couldn't remember if it was true but then changed his mind overnight and categorically denied the claim, describing it as nonsense and "A-grade, 24-carat bilge". The Palace even made a complaint to IPSO who said that the Sun shouldn't have used the headline they did but didn't rule that the story was inaccurate. BBC political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, backed up the story after the referendum.

Now Clegg has admitted to the New Statesman that the Queen did, in fact, get "grumpy" about the EU and regretted the way the EU was eclipsing the Commonwealth. This is the second time he's changed his mind and the Lib Dems are still in damage limitation mode, denying that Clegg referred to the queen as grumpy.