Johnson: More Evidence Of Nessie Than EU Forecasts

Boris Johnson has hit back at the EU Remain campaign's Brexit warnings - claiming there is "considerably better" evidence that the Loch Ness Monster exists.

Mr Johnson said there had been a "colossal, glutinous tide of nonsense" from those who want to stay in the European Union as the rival campaigns squabbled about the strength of their forecasts.

The former London mayor spoke as his Vote Leave campaign tried to shift attention on to concerns about the UK's ability to clamp down on tax avoiders while in the EU.

They claim the NHS and other services have been denied investment as EU rulings have helped multinational businesses "avoid paying billions" in taxes in the UK.

Mr Johnson responded to comments from Chancellor George Osborne, who accused Leave campaigners of treating economic warnings from the IMF and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney as a "massive conspiracy".

During a visit to Nottingham, he told reporters: "It's a bit rich from those who said World War Three will break out if we leave the European Union and the economy will fall off a cliff.

"I'm concerned there is now so much talking down of the UK that it's positively counter-productive. It's ludicrous.

"The Prime Minister before the renegotiations in Brussels was saying there was no question we'd get a fair trade deal, he said he was perfectly prepared to walk away - what's changed?"

He added: "The evidence for the Loch Ness Monster is considerably better than Treasury forecasts."

Mr Johnson was forced to spend a second day defending his comparison of the EU with Adolf Hitler's plan to dominate the continent.

He said: "Previous attempts to unify Europe have been done by force and have ended tragically.

"There are various historical illustrations of that point, which need no elaboration.

"What the Roman Empire had and the EU doesn't have is a single pole of authority that everyone understood and recognised and felt an allegiance to. That was the crucial point.

"Under the Roman Empire, people felt Roman. Under this European system, nobody actually feels European - some people might do, but very few people do, and that is the core of the problem."

The Vote Leave battle bus tour will continue in the Midlands, with Mr Johnson and Labour's Gisela Stuart attempting to switch the focus on to their campaign's belief that the EU is hampering efforts to tackle tax avoidance.

It is relying on estimates from a 2011 Government document to suggest reforms to rules related to foreign subsidiaries of British companies, following a European Court ruling in 2006, have reduced corporate tax revenues by £2.36bn since 2012.

The Leave camp has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of the diverted profits tax, which was introduced in 2015 to impose levies at a higher rate on sums believed to have been shielded from corporation tax.