Yahoo News David Cameron accused of 'ruining our country' by heckler
David Cameron was accused of “ruining our country” by a heckler during an event to promote his new book on Thursday night.
The former Prime Minister, 53, was repeatedly interrupted at Harrogate’s Crown Hotel as he attended the town’s literature festival to talk about his memoir “For the Record”.
A small group of protesters had formed outside the hotel before Mr Cameron’s talk and several people called out while he was on stage.
At one point, as he discussed the reasons for calling the 2016 referendum, one woman stood up and shouted: “I think the good people of Harrogate came here to hear an apology from you.”
As other audience members responded with a mixture of angry boos and applause, a man called out: “Apologise for ruining our country.”
The former Prime Minister described the three years following the referendum as “very painful for the country”.
When Mr Cameron was discussing ways to unite the country following the division of the referendum, another man interrupted and shouted: “Your policy of austerity did absolutely nothing to bring this country together.”
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When the man spoke across him as he attempted to respond, the former Conservative party leader quipped: “You can pay £35 to shout at me in here, or you can shout at me outside for free afterwards.”
The comment prompted cheers from the remaining members of the crowd.
During the event Mr Cameron urged MPs to support Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal ahead of the crucial House of Commons vote on Saturday.
He said he would back the deal if he were still an MP and said he believes Mr Johnson will succeed in getting his deal through despite the opposition of the DUP.
“The thing about the greased piglet is that he manages to slip through other people’s hands where mere mortals fail,” Mr Cameron said.
“The country voted to leave the European Union, the best way to leave is with a deal, I think a no-deal Brexit would be bad for the economy and bad for the union.
“I think it’s much better to leave with a deal, and I think Boris has done well to achieve that deal.
“I hope he’ll get it through Parliament, I suspect he will but it will be tight.”
Mr Cameron said that if he were still in Number 10, he would have opted for a deal that guaranteed a closer relationship with the EU, and which would keep the UK within the customs union.
He added that Mr Johnson’s deal represents a better choice than no deal and comes close to what was promised in the 2017 election manifesto.
