News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch has described the UK’s vote to leave the EU as “wonderful” in his first interview given since the landmark referendum vote.
Speaking at an invitation-only business summit hosted by the Times yesterday (29 June), Murdoch commented that leaving the EU was like a “prison break,” adding “we’re out”.
He also drew comparisons between the Brexit campaign and England’s loss to Iceland during the Euro 2016 tournament, likening Vote Leave supporters to winners Iceland, and saying the Remain camp was like England in the fact that its “overpaid players expected to be good”.
Eurosceptic Murdoch, who owns a roster of global papers including the Sun, the Times, the Telegraph and the Wall Street Journal, remained tight lipped on his personal views ahead of the EU vote but his comments now suggest that The Sun’s hard Vote Leave line reflected his own views.
The tabloid, which is Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper, dedicated a front page splash to an editorial outlining why it believed the UK should separate from Europe earlier this month.
Around 400 protestors descended on the Sun’s offices after the Brexit result was revealed to demonstrate against the “anti-immigration” tone of its EU coverage.
During the talk yesterday, the media magnate also hinted that Boris Johnson will not automatically win backing from his papers for a Conservative leadership campaign, saying that if the former mayor of London revoked his referendum promises it would provoke “another bloody revolt”.
Another subject he was apparently vocal on was Donald Trump’s presidential bid, describing the former Apprentice USA host as a “very able man”.
