EU’s Juncker regrets ‘not intervening’ in Brexit campaign

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said on Tuesday he regrets not intervening in the Brexit referendum.

Juncker, who will step down in the autumn after completing his five-year term, said he made a mistake by listening to British leader David Cameron when he told him to stay out of the campaign before the June 2016 vote, AFP reports.

“The then prime minister asked me not to interfere, not to intervene in the referendum campaign. It was a mistake not to intervene and not to interfere, because we would have been the only ones to destroy the lies that were circulated round,” Juncker said. “I was wrong to be silent at an important moment.”

The process of actually leaving the EU has dragged on for nearly three years and is currently mired in infighting in the British parliament.