'˜It was wrong to put false promises on the side of a bus'

Portsmouth South MP Flick Drummond has criticised the Leave campaign for lying about how much money could be ploughed into the NHS if Britain left the European Union.

Some of those fighting for the UK to ditch its continental neighbours claimed that the move would allow some £350m to be pumped back into the UK’s over-stretched health service.

However, just hours after results revealed that the UK was no longer going to be part of the union, Ukip leader and Brexit backer Nigel Farage went back on these promises, saying it had been ‘wrong’ to make such pledges.

‘It was wrong to put these false promises on the side of a bus,’ said Mrs Drummond.

The Tory MP, a staunch Remain supporter, said this threw into doubt the economic claims made by Brexit, particularly as no move has yet been taken to activate the legislation that will remove the UK from the EU.

‘There’s a lot of uncertainty right now,’ she added.

Mrs Drummond said she hoped the nation would remain part of Europe’s single market.

Leave campaigners have said that Britain could follow in the footsteps of countries like Norway, which still trades as part of the European Economic Area.

However, Mrs Drummond said this provided only a minimal saving for the Norwegians of around £22 per person.

‘My whole argument is that remaining would keep us at the top table and able to affect our neighbours, our economy and our security,’ she added.

Despite the uncertainty about Britain’s future, Mrs Drummond said the nation would rally and that all the members of government would pull together to obtain the best possible deal for Britain.

‘It’s early days and we will try and make it work because that’s what the people have decided,’ she said.