This archive report was first published on 15 September 2019.
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron has launched a blistering attack on current leader Boris Johnson, accusing him of backing Brexit to further his career.
According to extracts of his memoirs published on September 15, 2019, in the Sunday Times newspaper, Cameron said Johnson believed that campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union during the 2016 referendum would make him the "darling" of the Conservative party.
Cameron also accused Johnson and his top minister Michael Gove of lying to the public during the campaign, saying they "became ambassadors for the expert-trashing, truth-twisting age of populism".
Johnson is currently desperately seeking a divorce deal from Brussels, but insists Britain will leave without one if necessary, even after parliament blocked a "no deal" exit.
David Cameron, who led the failed "Remain" campaign to stay in the EU, revealed he had tried to stop Johnson from joining the Brexit campaign by offering him the post of defence secretary.
However, Johnson went ahead and "risked an outcome he didn't believe in because it would help his political career".
He claimed Johnson believed the "Leave" camp would lose, and if it won "there could always be a fresh renegotiation, followed by a second referendum" -- something he now rejects.
Johnson is set to meet European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in Luxembourg on Monday, as he attempts to get a deal before a summit of EU leaders on October 17.
