Boris Johnson accused of playing 'nasty game' over EU Hitler comments

Boris Johnson has been accused of playing a "nasty game" following comments he made that EU efforts to build a superstate were comparable to Hitler's attempt to take over the continent.

Mr Johnson's comments came in an interview with The Telegraph on Sunday, in which he noted there had been various attempts over the past 2,000 years to impose a single government on Europe, citing Napoleon and Hitler.

He said the EU was "an attempt to do this by different methods".

His comments follow a day of fevered campaigning by both sides in the referendum debate.

ITV News' political correspondent Romilly Weeks reports:

Yvette Cooper, a Labour former cabinet minister, called the comments "divisive" and dismissed them as an attempt to grab headlines.

"The more he [Johnson] flails around with this kind of hysterical claim, the more he exposes his shameful lack of judgement, his willingness to play the most divisive cynical politics, and the emptiness of his arguments," she said.

She said the former London mayor was "desperately seeking headlines for a desperate campaign".

"He should not try to play political games with the darkest and most sinister chapter of Europe's history," she said.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told ITV's Peston On Sunday: "Boris Johnson has some very odd interpretations of history".

Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn said Leave campaigners were "losing their moral compass".

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Campbell said Mr Johnson's comments showed his unsuitability for high office.

"Not content with insulting the President of the United States, he now grossly misrepresents the history, aims and objectives of the European Union which was founded to enshrine democratic values and to prevent a repeat of the fascism which polluted the continent under the Nazis," he said.

Mr Johnson was in Bristol on Saturday, where he told supporters the Vote Leave campaign was engaged in a David and Goliath struggle against the Remain camp.

Meanwhile, the Leave campaign was also out in force with both David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn backing the "In" vote, although Mr Corbyn used his speech to attack the Conservative government.