Ken Clarke mocks claims Brexit will mean the return of bent bananas Kenneth Clarke received the rare accolade of applause in the Commons as he mocked claims that bent bananas had been […]

Kenneth Clarke received the rare accolade of applause in the Commons as he mocked claims that bent bananas had been outlawed by European Union bureaucrats.

The former Tory Chancellor praised ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage for his success in convincing the public that Brussels was responsible for producing “vast quantities of awful legislation and red tape”.

He said: “I pay tribute to Nigel Farage’s campaigning abilities – there’s absolutely no doubt he’s the most successful politician of my generation, because he has persuaded a high proportion of the population that that is exactly how it runs.

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“And they’re all looking forward to having bent bananas again once we actually repeal this piece of legislation.”

Double deckers ‘under threat’

Mr Clarke added: “I fought an election once where several of my constituents – quite a lot of them – had been persuaded that the Eurocrats were about to abolish double decker buses, and it took some considerable time to try to refute that rather worrying belief.”

He described Britain’s EU membership as “highly successful” and said the UK had been one of its “leading influential players” pressing for higher standards.