Britain will be part of EU again in five years, says Richard Branson

British businessman Richard Branson believes that the UK will be part of Europe again within five years.

He also thinks that if a second Brexit referendum was held that the UK would remain in the European Union.

“I think what will happen is that young people overwhelmingly want to be part of Europe, they want to live and work in 28 countries, they want to be able to travel to 28 countries without having to have passports everywhere. They are Europeans, they want to embrace Europe,” he told RTE’s Ryan Tubridy show.

“The older generation is dying off, that’s happening. Whether there’s a second referendum before Brexit happens, I’m sure the Tory party will do their best not to allow that happen, within five years there will be a government in power in Britain that will ask Europe for a chance for Britain to re-enter.

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“And because there are so many young people who will be a little bit older by then and so many older who voted for Brexit will have died off, I think Britain will become a part of Europe again.

“It’s just a pity that all this time and energy and money is all being spent on such a wasteful thing as Brexit, which could be spent on much more positive things right now.

“I think Britain is going to continue sliding down and down and down. That’s very sad.”

Mr Branson described Brexit as “the saddest thing that has ever happened to Europe and to what was Great Britain.”

“It was as if the older group of British people took a gun and shot at their feet, they were misled horribly by one or two politicians.”

When asked would he include Boris Johnson in that group, he said yes.

“There was a ghastly, ghastly misrepresentation of reality, a picture was painted that was completely unreal.

“Britain was doing really well before the Brexit announcement. Since the Brexit announcement we’ve dropped to the bottom of all European countries, as far as Brexit is concerned, and this is just a taste of what’s going to happen.

“I think the Irish people were very smart in changing their mind and I think Ireland has benefitted enormously from being part of Europe.”