Vote Leave accuse Cameron of 'blind panic' after emergency briefing on 6 Brexit untruths

David Cameron called a rare emergency press conference to warn against a Brexit, as the deadline to register to vote in the EU referendum looms on 7 June. The prime minister outlined "six complete untruths" of the Vote Leave campaign in a bid to drum-up support for a Remain vote at the 23 June ballot. Vote Leave hit back, accusing Number 10 of "blind panic" for calling the meeting.

The Conservative leader attacked the Brexit group for claiming, among other things, that the UK would be liable for future eurozone bailouts and suggested that Britain could not veto an EU army. Cameron, after going through six different issues, branded such claims as "nonsense".

"So there you have it," the prime minister said. "Credible experts warning about risks to our economic security on the one side, and a series of assertions that turn out to be completely untrue on the other.

"The Leave campaign resorting to total untruths to con people into taking a leap in the dark.

"It is irresponsible. It is wrong. It is time that the Leave campaign was called out on the nonsense that they are peddling.

He added: "So as you make up your mind in this referendum, and you wonder – what does this all really mean for me? What does free trade and the Single Market and business investment and stability mean? How relevant is it to my life?

"Let me tell you. It matters for your job. It matters for the prices that you pay in the supermarket each week. It matters for the mortgage you pay, or your chances of getting on the housing ladder. It matters for your pension. It matters for the price of your family holiday. It matters for the money that we have available to spend on your local hospital or your local school.

"And it matters for your children and grandchildren. The kind of opportunities that they will have. And the kind of country that they will grow up in. All of this depends on the strength of our economy, and I believe along with this collection of independent experts that our economy is stronger inside this organisation."

'Blind panic'

But, as recent opinion polls place the two sides neck-and-neck, Vote Leave hit back by accusing Number 10 and the Remain campaign of "blind panic" for calling the press conference.

Douglas Carswell, Ukip's only MP, said: "David Cameron's renegotiation was a failure − no-one believes he got a deal worth the paper it was written on.

"Now people are rejecting his campaign of fear. The prime minister says we need a proper debate about the facts but he is too chicken to take on anyone from the Vote Leave campaign head-to-head.

"David Cameron and George Osborne have both admitted that they have given up our right to veto future EU treaties, that the EU has ignored us in the past over bailouts and they know their guarantees on the renegotiation are about as trustworthy as their mate Nick Clegg's pledges on tuition fees."