Cameron Warns Brexit Could Endanger Peace

Local Editor

Peace in Europe could be at risk if Britain votes to leave the European Union, David Cameron is to say.

The UK has regretted "turning its back" on Europe in the past, the PM will say in a speech later, arguing the European Union has "helped reconcile" countries and maintain peace.

Cameron will ask if leaving the union is a "risk worth taking".

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson, who wants the UK to leave the EU, will make a speech on the "cosmopolitan case for Brexit".

There are just over six weeks to go until the 23 June referendum which will decide whether Britain remains in or leaves the EU.

The major speeches - from the most high-profile figures on both sides of the campaign - come as the referendum campaign intensifies, following last week's elections.

Johnson - now free from his role as London mayor - will begin a battle bus tour of the country on behalf of the Leave campaign later this week.

In his speech, Cameron will argue that the EU - with Britain in it - has helped bring together countries that had been "at each other's' throats for decades".

He will warn the peace and stability Europe has enjoyed in recent years cannot be guaranteed.

The PM will argue that continued co-operation is in keeping with the country's finest traditions and the sweep of its history.

While Europe has largely been at peace since 1945, Cameron will say it is barely two decades since the Bosnian war while, more recently, Russia has been at war with Georgia and Ukraine.

"Can we be so sure that peace and stability on our continent are assured beyond any shadow of doubt? Is that a risk worth taking? I would never be so rash as to make that assumption," he will say.

Cameron will argue "isolationism has never served this country well".

He will rank 2016 alongside other major events in European history, including the Spanish Armada in 1588, the battles of Blenheim and Waterloo in 1704 and 1815 respectively, the two world wars, as well as the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"The truth is this: what happens in our neighborhood matters to Britain," the PM will add.

"That was true in 1914, in 1940 and in 1989. Or, you could add 1588, 1704 and 1815... And if things go wrong in Europe, let's not pretend we can be immune from the consequences."

It comes after former MI6 boss Sir John Sawers warned leaving the EU would make the UK "less safe".

He said the UK would be shut out of decisions on the "crucial" issue of data sharing.

However, Justice Secretary Michael Gove - who backs the campaign for the UK to leave the EU - said Sir John was "flat wrong".

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team