Michael Portillo delivered a simple slap down of Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary after the Brexit-hating multi-millionaire voiced delight in Brexiteers “dying out”.
In an offensive interview with the Sunday Times, the Irish CEO said he is hopeful about the future as the over-70s who voted for Brexit will “die out in the next 10 or 15 years”, describing the heartless claim as a “good thing”.
He said that while the UK is unlikely to ever fully rejoin the EU, Britain will “rejoin the European single market in the next five to 10 years, in a Swiss-style deal or a Norwegian-style deal”.
Responding to the latest attack on Brexiteers by the pro-EU businessman, Michael Portillo hit out at the Ryanair boss saying it’s a “fantastic way to talk about your passengers!”
The former Tory minister fumed: “Brexit was not about the convenience of Ryanair, or even about air passengers!”
“It was about the sovereignty of this country. It was about making sure that the decisions that affect our daily lives are taken by people that we can vote for and vote against.
“Those decisions being made at the level of the European Union, that did not happen.”
He swiped that while Michael O’Leary might know how to run an airline, he “doesn’t know very much about accountability in politics!”
The airline magnate has been consistently opposed to Brexit both in the run up to the referendum and since the huge democratic revolt.
He claimed Britain would end up looking “stupid” in unsuccessful attempts to persuade Britons to stick with the undemocratic bloc.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Mr O’Leary bemoaned that Britain’s exit from the Single Market has “made flying to and from the UK more complicated, bureaucratic and expensive”.
He claimed that leaving the Single Markert “was the greatest act of economic self-harm perpetrated by any western government, the dumbest f***ing idea in history delivered by the dumbest politicians in history”.
He furiously added: “Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage are lunatic halfwits”.
Amid airport chaos in 2022, then-Transport Secretary Grant Shapps denied that Brexit had caused problems for flyers.
Mr Shapps pointed out that many airports across Europe were also experiencing similar problems with cancellations, queues and baggage.
He pointed out: ““If it was just the Brexit issue, then that wouldn’t be the case”.
Mr Shapps accused airlines of making “too deep” job cuts during the pandemic, and then being left understaffed when international holidays resumed.
“Airports across Europe have also had the same queues, so if it was just a Brexit issue, then that wouldn’t be the case.
“As with lorry drivers, we found the solutions were actually in making sure decent salaries were paid, that people was trained here in this country, that people were attracted to a job not just by better salaries but also better conditions as well.”
