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Lord Heseltine claims Brexit delivers Europe to Germany; “Berlin lost the war and won peace”

Lord Heseltine questioned how Theresa May campaigned to remain in the EU but “within a few weeks” of becoming PM, insist “Brexit means Brexit”.

The UK is handing control of Europe's destiny to Germany by leaving the EU, Lord Heseltine has claimed. The Tory peer, sacked as a government adviser after defying the whip over Brexit, said the Germans had lost World War Two but the UK was now giving them the “opportunity to win the peace”.

 “I find that quite unacceptable,” he told the House Magazine. In a wide-ranging interview, Lord Heseltine questioned how Theresa May could campaign to remain in the EU as home secretary but “within a few weeks” of becoming PM, insist “Brexit means Brexit”.

The prime minister, he added, had seemed to change her mind on the issue, suggesting “this lady was for turning”.

Lord Heseltine, who was deputy prime minister between 1992 and 1997, said he would continue to argue against the decision to leave the EU, believing it was against the UK's historic national interest.

The 83-year old said he was “now free” to speak out after he was relieved of his five economic advisory roles after defying party managers to vote against Brexit in the House of Lords.

“If anyone is listening, I will continue to play a role in trying to avert what I perceive to be a disaster of British self-interest,” he was quoted as saying. “The letters keep flowing, the invitations keep coming...They haven't kicked me out of the party yet. They kicked me out of my advisory jobs but as yet there is no suggestion I should be asked for my membership card.”

Not only would Brexit alter the balance of power in Europe, he suggested that for many people of his generation, the UK's decision might be regarded as a betrayal of the country's fight against the Nazis.

“For someone like myself, it was in 1933, the year of my birth, that Hitler was democratically elected in Germany. He unleashed the most horrendous war. ”This country played a unique role in securing his defeat. So Germany lost the war. We have just handed them the opportunity to win the peace.“

He dismissed those who argue Britain's standing in the world would be unaffected by EU withdrawal, saying the UK would lose its ability to act as a bridge between both the Commonwealth and the US and Europe. ”The Americans will shift the focus of their interest to Germany.“

Lord Heseltine has long been one of the most pro-European voices in his party but has rejected the Europhile tag often given to him - saying that EU membership is about enhancing the UK's national interest not giving up power and identity.

He said he had ”no complaints“ about the way he had been treated by the prime minister, saying they came from a different political generation and had never met, let alone discussed Europe. But he suggested that she had not shown the iron resolve of her predecessor Lady Thatcher, who the peer served under and later helped to depose as prime minister.

Lady Thatcher famously told the 1980 Conservative party conference, at a time of intense calls for the government to reverse its economic policies, ”you turn if you want to, this lady's not for turning.“

Pointing to a speech Mrs. May made two months before the EU referendum - in which she called for Britain to ”stand tall and lead in Europe“ - Lord Heseltine said: ”I don't know how someone who made that speech can, within a few weeks, say Brexit is Brexit and ask the nation to unite behind it...This lady was for turning.“

Conservative MP David TC Davies said he respected Lord Heseltine and the generation whose world view was shaped by war but their outlook was not shared by others. ”For them the EU was not just a trading arrangement. It was a way of avoiding a third world war,” he said.