Pro-EU camp 'treating voters like children,' says Michael Gove
Video report by ITV News Deputy Political Editor Chris Ship.
Michael Gove has accused the pro-EU campaigners of treating voters "like children", as the war of words in the debate over the referendum on Britain's relationship with the EU intensifies.
In a purposefully upbeat speech in London, the justice secretary described the campaign for leaving the EU as "positive and optimistic", in contrast to the negative scaremongering of the Remain campaign.
"According to some In campaigners, independence also means the devastation of large areas of our national life," he said, poking fun at the In campaign by saying it sometimes appeared to be "operating to a script written by [Game of Thrones author] George RR Martin and [horror writer] Stephen King".
Britain will decide its future in the union in an in-out referendum on June 23.
He said the campaign "treats people like mere children, capable of being frightened into obedience by conjuring up new bogeymen every night".
He also argued that remaining in the EU would mean that Brussels would take more power and money away from the UK, and added that he hoped to "liberate" Britain's MEPs to "flourish" in the private sector.
Responding to a question from ITV News Deputy Political Editor Chris Ship, that he would be unable to name a nation that had full access to the EU single market but did not need to apply EU regulations, Mr Gove said Britain was in a "unique position".
His comments come a day after his cabinet colleague George Osborne warned that a pulling out of the EU would make Britain permanently poorer.
In a swipe at the Treasury's claims, Mr Gove warned that remaining in the EU would mean Britain's taxpayers would be paying the bills for the EU's failures.
Mr Gove said: "If we vote to stay we are not settling for the status quo, we are voting to be hostages locked in the boot of a car driven by other to a place and at a pace that we have no control over," he said.
"In stark contrast, if we vote to leave, we take back control."
He said Britain will never be able to control its own borders as long as it is in the EU, and that Brussels was jealous of Britain's security relationship with the "Five Eyes" countries, referring to the UK's intelligence sharing relationship with the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
He added that leaving the EU would free the UK of Brussels bureaucracy and dismissed suggestions that Britain would be penalised by its former EU partners over trade.
"It's sometimes claimed we will only get free trade if we accept free movement, but the EU has free trade deals with nations that obviously do not involve free movement," he said.
"It's been countries outside the EU's bureaucracy which have been selling more and more goods to EU nations."
He said that outside of the EU Britain "can take control of our trade negotiations" and complete them more quickly.
Mr Gove accused the EU of holding back developing nations, saying that free of Brussels the UK could help the poorest nations advance by removing tariffs.
He also said that by pulling out of the EU, Britain would be a catalyst for driving reform of the EU and argued that others in Europe were unhappy with Brussels.
Mr Gove is one of the highest-profile members of the Leave campaign, and is making the rounds following a swing in favour of remaining in the EU in the wake of the chancellor's comments yesterday.