Dublin, Ireland 18 Oct (ANA) - Bill Clinton has come under fire after mocking Brexit and saying Leave voters had no idea what they were voting for. The former president hit out at those who support the UK’s departure from the European Union, saying it was ridiculous to think that differences were more important than what people have in common. And he claimed some Brexit voters may only now be realising the impact of their decision.

Speaking at Dublin University yesterday as he accepted an honorary doctorate, Mr Clinton even went so far as to mimick a Brexit voter as he warned inequality and division was taking over the UK. He said: “Now there are lots of people who think they are less human. "Now given the economic inequalities and the rapid pace of social change and all the upheaval that's going on .... people are reassessing whether what we have in common is more important than our differences. "A lot of people begged to differ. That's really what the Brexit vote is all about." Mimicking a voter, he said: "I'm sorry we can't stay together, we had a disagreement. Oh my God, I didn't know I was going to lose that customs thing and all these economic benefits. Oh, why didn't anyone tell me that?" After being honoured by the university for his work on peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, Mr Clinton said he used the example of the Good Friday Agreement shamelessly around the world. But he warned that the Brexit vote was about people thinking differences are more important that what they have in common. He said: "If we approached families the way we approached this whole debate all over the world, people would run fleeing from their homes the minute parents gave an instruction they didn't like, or people made a mistake. “All partnerships that are community-based are held together not because everybody agrees with everybody else, not because we don't still have our particular identities, but because co-operation is better than conflict or isolation in any environment in which you must be in touch with others.(ANA)

FA/ANA/18 October 2017---------