Brexiteer MP predicts success for Big Ben Brexit bong campaign

A Brexiteer Tory has predicted that the £500,000 needed to get Big Ben to ring for Brexit will be raised within days.

Mark Francois, who has promised £1,000, said "I think we will get it within 48 hours" – but accused the House of Commons authorities of exaggerating the cost of bringing the currently silent bell back into operation.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock also backed the campaign, saying he would "love to hear the Big Ben bong on Brexit day".

So far, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "bung a bob for a Big Ben bong" proposal to get the bell to ring on Brexit night is attracting muted support on crowdfunding websites, with no official campaign.

Meanwhile, Leave campaigners' calls for churches to chime across the nation when the UK leaves the EU at 11pm on January 31 were also being met with opposition.

Bell-ringing representatives released a statement to say they do not endorse the act to be carried out in churches "for political reasons" such as Brexit.

Big Ben has been silenced since 2017 with renovations under way, but ardent Brexiteers have called for the work to be paused so the bell can ring in the new relationship at an estimated cost of £500,000.

Mr Francois told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "It seems to me and many of my colleagues in the House of Commons patently daft that we have got the most iconic clock in the world – literally, it's a world heritage site – that that should stay silent on this occasion."

He claimed the costs were "massively exaggerated" because "officials in the House of Commons just don't want to do it".

The bell should ring to allow those who want to celebrate to mark the occasion, he said, but acknowledged that not everyone would be cheering.

"There are some that don't, they can watch Netflix or do whatever they want to do," he said.

Mr Hancock told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Bong or no bong, we are delivering Brexit on January 31."

The Prime Minister said on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday that the Government was "working up a plan so people can bung a bob for a Big Ben bong".

His official spokesman insisted Brexit day would be properly marked, but said there was not a specific Government fund.

On crowdfunding website GoFundMe, a series of pages were attempting to raise cash for the bongs, but the majority had received no donations at all, and the most successful page so far had only attracted £215.

Restoring the bell was discussed at a meeting of the House of Commons Commission on Monday, but it was ultimately ruled out after it was revealed that it could cost £500,000.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who is chairman of the commission, said: "You are talking about £50,000 a bong."

Meanwhile, the Leave.EU campaign has called for churches across the nation to echo their reaction to the Allies' victory against the Nazis in the Second World War.

"Whichever way you look at it, February 1 will be the most momentous morning in British history since the glorious day in 1945 when our country celebrated victory over the Nazi regime in Germany," the group said.

But the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers declined to give its backing.

"There are historical moments for which bells have been rung – end of world wars for example. In 2018 the Central Council worked with the Government on a recruitment and awareness campaign to recognise 100 years since WW1 Armistice," it said in a statement.

"However the Central Council, as a principle, does not endorse bell ringing for political reasons. Individual towers have discretion to ring for such occasions but is on a case-by-case basis and typically needs permission from the incumbent."