I don’t think in his heart Boris wants us to walk away. But he’s interested in us saying no because it won’t be what we want. That would mean a second vote. He thinks the only way to deal with these people is to play hardball.
The news will come as a surprise to those in Downing Street who assumed the Mayor would stand by David Cameron on the matter.
The Prime Minister has promised to hold the vote before the end of 2017, but hopes the public will vote to stay in once he renegotiates the terms of Britain's relationship with the bloc.
He set out his initial proposals to other EU leaders at a summit in Brussels earlier this week, but conceded that any treaty change would only go ahead after the referendum.
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