Johnson, a leading supporter of the Brexit campaign to withdraw the UK from the European Union, responded to a question by an Italian journalist by declaring Europeans are ‘tutti benvenuti,’ meaning all welcome.
His remarks attracted condemnation from Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit Coordinator.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UK has faced a shortage of labour in key sectors, especially agriculture, and a ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign has largely failed to lift off.
Nonetheless, Johnson added that European workers would have to quarantine for two weeks on their return to Britain.
