US Ambassador: Britain Should Stay In EU ‘From A Selfish Point Of View’

Britain should stay in the EU asa “from a selfish point of view” it benefits America, according the US Ambassador. His Excellency Matthew Barzun made the comment at a lunch in the House of Commons for around a hundred journalists today.

When asked about Britain’s role in the EU he said: “If you ask us we value a strong UK in the European Union, on issues like security and ISIL we value the UK’s role, but that’s negative. We also need the UK to work towards free trade, freedom and democracy. So we want the UK to play their role. From a selfish point of view its a good thing.”

Barzun was given the role by President Obama after a he worked as a fundraiser on the President’s  campaign in 2008. He refused to deny that he planned to run for office when he left the job, only confirming he would “return to Kentucky”.

President Obama himself has been accused of being anti-British, he once described France as America’s “oldest friend” and returned the bust of Churchill that previously been placed in the Oval Office. Whitehall was so worried about Obama’s views that HM The Queen is believed to have been asked to make a special effort to get the American first family onside. She responded by giving Sasha Obama a trip around the Buckingham Palace grounds in a horse drawn carriage for her birthday during a state visit.

Ambassador Barzun had previously been Ambassador to Sweden. He also described his favourite experience in his 15 months of living in the UK as visiting the City of Leeds: “the best thing about being here is getting out of the capital and the beautiful countryside to see the UK’s other cities like Leeds.

“My little sister married a guy Geordie, so I also like visiting Newcastle. People find that odd but I like it.” He even admitted he had attempted to learn Welsh ahead of the NATO conference in Newport earlier this year. 

He joked that he had learned a joke in the language “every American can speak three words of Welsh: Catherine, Zeta and Jones”. The Ambassador said he had only been able to make the joke once, at a Primary School, and it had fallen flat amongst a group of five-year-olds.