NOW PM ADMITS SEEKING 'CLOSER' LINKS TO EU

SIR Keir Starmer has vowed to seek closer ties to the EU as he blamed Brexit for the disastrous economy under Labour.

- BY MARTYN BROWN Political Editor

The Prime Minister sparked fury with vows to appease Brussels as he scrambled to defend his under-fire Chancellor.

He said: "The Brexit deal has significantly hurt our economy and so we have to keep reducing frictions.

"We have to keep moving towards a closer relationship with the EU, and we have to be grown up about that, to accept that this will require trade-offs." It came as he tried to move on from claims that Rachel Reeves misled the public about the state of the nation's finances to pave the way for her monster £26billion tax raid in last week's Budget.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the PM would pay at the ballot box for his scaremongering. Writing in the Express today, he blasts: "Few will be fooled by Starmer's transparent attempt to shift the spotlight away from his Chancellor and her disastrous Budget." Sir Keir, who backed remaining in the EU, has vowed to make Brexit work since becoming Prime Minister in July last year.

But speaking in South London yesterday he said: "There is no credible economic vision for Britain that does not position us as an open, trading economy." His remarks reignited fears that his ultimate aim is to reverse Brexit as we approach next year's 10th anniversary of the historic vote to leave the European Union.