Boris Johnson's top adviser once said there was a 'strong case' for a second Brexit referendum

One of Boris’s Johnson’s top advisers once said there was a "strong case" for a second referendum, even as the prime minister doubles down on leaving the European Union with or without a deal.

Cummings was appointed as a senior adviser to Boris Johnson earlier this year.

In 2016 he was interviewed for The Economist’s Bagehot’s notebook section, where he admitted there was a "strong democratic case" for a second referendum.

Bagehot asked him: “In the event of an Out vote do you think the government would seek to hold another referendum, on the terms of Brexit?”

Cummings, 47, responded: “I think that is a distinct possibility, yes. It’s obviously not something that we can force. We’re a campaign group.”

But I think it is perfectly possible that leadership candidates to replace David Cameron will say that they think there are good grounds for a new government team to offer the public a voice on what the deal looks like. And we obviously wouldn’t oppose that, if that’s what senior politicians want to offer. I think there’s a strong democratic case for it. There’s also the issue of the profound loss of trust that the establishment has suffered over the past 20-30 years. All parties have told lies about this subject, whether it’s John Major and David Cameron or Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and Nick Clegg. 

People have repeatedly promised referendums then not held referendums. So given that, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if leadership candidates to replace Cameron said: we need a mechanism so people can have confidence in what we say.

However Boris, who succeeded Theresa May as PM following a heated leadership contest, is ‘seeking advise’ on how to legally shut down parliament for five weeks ahead of Brexit.

The prime minister wants to suspend parliament in an attempt to block MPs from extending Brexit further, according to a leaked email, however a No. 10 spokesperson denied the claim, calling it “entirely false.”

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