Theresa May slaps down Jeremy Hunt for likening EU to Soviet Russia in Tory conference speech

'I can tell you that the two organisations are not the same,' the prime minister said

Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has been rebuked by Theresa May for likening the European Union to Soviet Russia in his confrontational address to the Conservatives' annual conference.

In extraordinary remarks that led to one former top diplomat saying it was "unworthy" of a British foreign secretary, Mr Hunt said Brussels appeared "to think the way to keep the club together is to punish a member who leaves".

“What happened to the confidence and ideals of the European dream?” he asked. “The EU was set up to protect freedom. It was the Soviet Union that stopped people leaving.

“The lesson from history is clear: if you turn the EU club into a prison, the desire to get out won’t diminish, it will grow – and we won’t be the only prisoner that will want to escape.”

Pressed on the remarks on BBC1's Breakfast, Ms May replied: "As I sit around that table in the EU, there are countries who used to be part of the Soviet Union.

"They are now democratic countries and I can tell you that the two organisations are not the same."

According to The Times, the incendiary rhetoric has led to cabinet colleagues of the foreign secretary accusing him of being on leadership manoeuvres

Lord Ricketts, the former head of the diplomatic service, added that the comments were "unworthy" of a British foreign secretary. "The EU isn't a Soviet-style prison," he said.

"Its legal order has brought peace and prosperity after a century of war. Our decision to leave was always going to leave us worse off. The only punishment is the self-inflicted variety."

Ms May also brushed aside speculation about her relationship with Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, who will today arrive at the party's conference in Birmingham for a fringe event.

Asked how she had been getting on with Mr Johnson recently, she laughed and told the BBC: "Well, I'm sure that's going to be a very lively event this evening.

"At this conference what we're focusing on is the opportunity for this country once we leave the European Union and the opportunity that we want to ensure that people in this country have."

It came as the prime minister outlined the government's post-Brexit immigration proposals, including the end of free movement from the EU. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Ms May also said she remained committed to the target of reducing immigration to the tens of thousands - a pledge that has never been delivered on since it was first promised by David Cameron in the coalition years.