Let Greece go bust and leave euro, urges Boris Johnson
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Britain should not be expected to contribute to a second bail-out of the Greek economy, Boris Johnson has said.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, the Conservative mayor of London said Greece should be allowed to default on its debts and leave the euro.
Eurozone finance ministers have agreed to a second bail-out to keep the country afloat.
But they have postponed a £10bn EU/IMF loan until further austerity measures are introduced.
The Greek government expects a second rescue package to be similar in size to the first one just over a year ago.
'Inevitable' But the UK government is under pressure from its own Conservative MPs - and leading figures such as Mr Johnson - to let Greece go its own way.
"For years, European governments have been saying that it would be insane and inconceivable for a country to leave the euro," writes Mr Johnson.
"But this second option is now all but inevitable, and the sooner it happens the better."
If you want 100,000 Greeks pitching up here looking for jobs that is exactly the kind of silly language you would use”
Denis MacShane Former Europe minister
He suggested that Greece's actions in running up unmanageable debts had been encouraged by its membership of the euro.
"The euro has exacerbated the financial crisis by encouraging some countries to behave as recklessly as the banks themselves," he said.
"We are supposedly engaging in this bail-out system to protect the banks, including our own. But as long as there is the fear of default, as long as the uncertainty continues, confidence will not return across the whole of Europe."
UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage warned against contributing further towards a fresh Greek bail-out.
"The UK is a contributor to the IMF, so already UK money is being used indirectly to bail out Greece," he said.
"In terms of throwing more money at the problem, how can the government expect British taxpayers to put up with that when at home they are enduring pay freezes or job losses?
"A fresh bailout for Greece should not involve the UK. Repeated transfusions will not resuscitate a corpse and the euro is dead."
