Politics

Priti Patel Blasts Starmer’s EU Deal as “Betrayal” of Brexit Victory

Published on May 20, 2025

Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, dismissing his claim that the UK is “back on the world stage” following his recent EU “reset” deal.

Speaking on GB News, the former Home Secretary slammed the agreement as a “betrayal” of Brexit and accused Starmer of attempting to rewrite history on Britain’s global influence.

Reacting to comments made by Starmer during a summit with EU leaders in Central London, Patel said bluntly: “What a load of nonsense, quite frankly. That is utter rubbish from Keir Starmer—and not for the first time.”

She defended the UK’s role in international affairs post-Brexit, particularly under Conservative leadership. “It is Britain that led international efforts when it came to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, so he needs to go away and do some homework,” she said.

Patel also highlighted the Conservative government’s record on post-Brexit trade, saying, “Of course, it was Conservatives in Government that led the way when it came to Britain post-Brexit securing those trade deals—over 70 trade agreements during our tenure in Government.”

She accused Starmer of continuously undermining the Brexit referendum result. “We’re not going to listen to that nonsense from Keir Starmer, who just wants to constantly betray Britain and the democratic vote of the British people,” she continued. “I think he needs to go back and recalibrate his very smug comments.”

Patel further criticized Labour’s portrayal of the deal, calling many of the claims “misleading.” “Where’s the economic impact assessment?” she asked. “The stuff on border and passport queues is just nonsense.”

She also took issue with the EU’s incoming Entry/Exit System, which is set to be implemented later this year. “I don’t think your viewers are totally aware that the EU have a digital system coming in anyway called the EU Entry and Exit System, which is basically their equivalent of the digital border system we have put in place in the UK,” she explained.

Patel warned that the introduction of the new system in October would likely cause more disruption rather than streamline travel, despite Starmer’s claims. “By the way, when this comes in October, it will lead to queues because we will have to provide our biometrics and lots of personal data. It’s wrong and misleading.”

Her remarks reflect growing Conservative backlash to Starmer’s EU approach, with many in the party seeing it as a rollback of hard-won Brexit achievements.