Dubai: A former minister in the David Cameron government wants to see the United Kingdon continue within the European Union (EU) ahead of the crucial referendum on June 23.
From 2001 to 2015, Sir Hugh Michael Robertson was a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Faversham and Mid Kent, a large constituency in Kent which stretches from the outskirts of east Maidstone to the rural areas of The Weald and Faversham.
Robertson served as an officer in the Life Guards, from 1982 to 1995, rising to the rank of a Major.
He also saw active service in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, the Gulf War and served with the United Nations peacekeeping force [UNPROFOR] in Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 1995 to 2001, he was a banker with the investment management division of Schroders, then head of new business development for the property division.
He was in Dubai yesterday attending the daylong ‘Sports Innovation Lab’ held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC).
“I have been keeping out of it [commenting on the referendum] for so long,” he admitted.
“I was first a soldier and then later I was with the UN. I am very proud of my country, but I am an internationalist and I don’t want to see Great Britain retreating behind its own borders. I want to see it reaching out and making friends and new alliances around the world,” Robertson added.
By hosting a referendum, Prime Minister David Cameron is merely honouring a promise he made after he had won the 2015 general elections. His own Conservative MPs and the UK Independence Party (Ukip) have time and again argued that Great Britain has not had its say since 1975 when it voted to stay in a referendum then in the 28-member EU.
“I think that in era when we can all communicate so much more quickly and easily we need to be part of bigger trading partnerships. I don’t think it would do any of our many many friends here in the Middle East any good at all if Great Britain retreats from the EU,” Robertson said.
In 2013, he moved to be Minister of State at The Foreign and Commonwealth Office responsible for The Middle East, North Africa and Counter Terrorism making place for former judo champion Helen Grant to take over as the new sports minister.
He stood down from government in the 2014 reshuffle and was knighted for his work as Minister for The Olympics during London 2012. He was also the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs until July 2014.
“As a soldier, politician and businessman I have spent a lot of my time in this part of the world. And I think Great Britain’s relations in this part of the world are most likely to be best by us being part of the bigger trading block,” he insisted.