Keir Starmer was slammed for trying to "rewind" Brexit after suggesting the UK was tricked into voting to leave the European Union. Sir Keir said the 2016 referendum decision was based on a series of false promises that haven't come true. And he attempted to lay the blame on Nigel Farage, whose party Reform UK is ten points ahead of Labour in the polls. But Mr Farage hit back, warning: "For some reason Sir Keir Starmer remains determined to drag us back under the heels of Brussels."

Tory shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said Sir Keir had given up any pretence of accepting the result of the 2016 vote. She said: "Ten years after the referendum, Keir Starmer is still arguing with the British people rather than accepting their decision." With key elections in Wales, Scotland and several local authorities just 12 weeks away, Sir Keir has been accused of reigniting old Brexit differences as a means to woo back voters from Reform UK.

Speaking exclusively to the Express, the Prime Minister admitted he planned more deals with the EU on defence, energy policy and trade - and claimed Mr Farage had misled voters.

Sir Keir said: "As far as Nigel Farage is concerned, let us remind ourselves that he said if we left the EU it would be £350 million a week for the NHS - that didn't happen.

"He said if we left the EU there would be less red tape for trading into Europe - try telling that to any business that is trading into Europe. He said if we left the EU regular migration would go down - it quadrupled under the Boris wave. So I wouldn't listen too much to what Nigel Farage has to say about this."

In fact, the NHS funding pledge was made by the official leave campaign, backed by former Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson and ex-Labour MP Gisela Stuart, while Mr Farage was part of a separate campaign. Collared by the Express en-route from Shanghai to Tokyo during a trade visit, Sir Keir blamed the Conservatives for a flatlining economy, rising unemployment and an increase in the cost of living under his watch.

He added: "It is absolutely clear from the botched deal we got from the last government has caused damage to our economy which is why we have reset that relationship and do want to get closer of defence and security, on energy, on emissions and trade."

The Prime Minister claimed a new agreement with the EU on food and agriculture will lead to lower prices in supermarkets. But responding to the comments, Mr Farage insisted the UK was stronger because of Brexit - even though, he said, both Conservative and Labour governments failed to take full advantage of the opportunities it offered.

"Our failure to capitalise on the economic benefits of Brexit is down to the sheer incompetence of successive Conservative and Labour governments. But on the world stage there can be no doubt Britain stands far taller now that we are no longer tied to the European Union."

And Dame Priti said it was essential to complete Brexit by leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), a key demand of the Express's "Give Us a Proper Brexit" campaign.

She said: "Too much power still sits outside our democratic reach. Treaties, conventions, and foreign courts continue to constrain Parliament, override our laws and frustrate enforcement. That is why the Conservatives, now alongside the Daily Express, are right to say the time has come to leave the ECHR and restore full democratic control.

"Starmer wants to rewind Brexit. Handing power back to European technocrats will not grow our economy, lower prices, or control immigration. A proper Brexit means standing up for democratic control."

Eurosceptic Labour MP Graham Stringer, writing in the Express today, said Brexit "betrayal must not be tolerated".

Sir Keir also revealed he still wants Britain to join a costly EU defence fund. He said he wants to restart talks on Britain taking part in the £130billion Security Action For Europe (SAFE) fund even though his Government hesitated at the high price demanded by Brussels last year.

Our crusade for a proper Brexit, in the run-up to the 10th anniversary of the Referendum in June, is backed by political heavyweights including Mr Farage, Mr Johnson, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Tory Brexit champion Jacob Rees-Mogg.

We became the first newspaper in 2010 to declare Britain must leave the EU. As well as giving the UK full control over its borders by leaving the ECHR, our new crusade calls for slashing red tape for businesses and enforcing a 12 mile exclusion zone around the UK for British vessels only.

The Prime Minister has pushed for closer economic relations with the Bloc since coming into power in July 2024. Sir Keir has said he wants to "go further" in moving Britain closer to the EU single market as he cranked up his plot to reverse Brexit.

This is despite a manifesto promise not to rejoin the EU single market or customs union. Europe Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds and Business Secretary Peter Kyle will hold talks about EU alignment with their European counterparts tomorrow (Tues).

It comes ahead of the next UK-EU summit, which is expected to take place in May. The UK is already lining up with Brussels on some rules around food and agriculture to allow access to the economic European trading zone.

Joining the EU's single market would eliminate trade tariffs between Britain and the EU, but Westminster would have to follow rules set by Brussels and accept free movement of people.

Several of Sir Keir's Cabinet colleagues have broken ranks in recent months to suggest Britain should rejoin the EU customs union.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, have said a customs union would boost economic growth as Labour struggles to deliver on promises to increase GDP.

The UK formally left the EU single market and customs union at 11pm on 31 December 2020. It followed a June 2016 referendum where 17.4 million people voted to leave the EU, with a split of 52% versus 48%.