James O’Brien confronts Vote Leave supporters who think Remainers want Brexit to fail

Speaking on his LBC show, O’Brien said: “Let me tell you something about being a prominent Remoaner. We really, really want this to go well, there will be no Schadenfreude, satisfaction or happiness in seeing our country and our children’s futures compromised even more than they already have been.”

He explained that if Nissan closed its car plant in Sunderland because of Brexit – rumours which the manufacturer has denied – then there was “no opportunity for gloating” because thousands would lose their jobs.

If it remained open, O’Brien argued, there would “no gloating” for Brexiteers either because leaving the EU would have “already done untold damage to our economy and our world standing”.

He went on to warn that the first few months, possibly years, of Brexit would be “nuts”.

“If you voted for it, your life is going to get worse. If you’re in business for it…the red tape, the regulations, they’re all going to increase, even with a deal,” he said.

“You’ve got a business, you voted for Brexit, you believed it was all going to be great, there was going to be £350 million a week to the NHS…now reality is biting, it’s the polar opposite of what you were promised, what possible good is there in me sitting there and laughing at you or mocking you or criticising you?

“The people that I’m cross with are the people that sold you lies. I’m not cross with the people who believed it. There is no point.”

Blaming the British press for this, O’Brien added: “To have fallen for this, to have fallen for the idea that abolishing the freedom of movement is going to make your life better… We’ll become the first country in the history of the world to celebrate abolishing its own citizens’ freedoms and to impose economic sanctions on itself.”