26 June 2023 , 06:33
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Gary Neville has claimed "unusual things" have happened to him since he began to criticise Boris Johnson and the Conservative government.
Neville has been outspoken about the former prime minister and the Tory government amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis. But the Manchester United legend's scathing criticism of the government has not been welcomed by all.
That has led to him coming under fire from those who are supportive of the Tories and Johnson. Neville is frequently hit by demands that he 'stick to football', rather than get involved in politics.
But the former Red Devils captain has ignored those calls and continues to share his criticism, even joining the Labour Party 18 months ago. Now, Neville has opened up on the full consequences of being publicly critical of Johnson and the Tories.
"While he was prime minister, I felt we were in real danger. All my life, I’ve been in teams where you look after one another. This lot don’t think that way. They’re in it for themselves and on the take," he told The Guardian.
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"It’s damaging our country, our integrity, our international standing. We’re a laughing stock. Johnson has got to be expelled from British politics for good. So do all his cronies who enabled him.
"We live in a democratic society with freedom of speech. I’ve had freedom of information requests put in on me that I’ve never had before in my life. They’re coming from certain sections of the media purely because they want to silence me.
Neville has frequently taken aim at former prime minister Boris Johnson (Getty Images)"Other unusual things have also been happening in my life recently, which I can’t talk about but haven’t experienced before. I understand what’s going on. The Westminster elite have a protective ring around them that needs them to stay in power. But it’s wrong and it’ll change soon, I hope."
Neville has frequently been linked with running to become an MP at the next general election. He has previously denied having those ambitions though, admitting when he joined Labour that it was not something he was interested in doing.
“I want to support Labour. I do believe that we need a progressive Labour party but one that not just looks after the left side … it has to come towards the centre,” he said after joining the party in January 2022.
"I'm able to communicate, I know what I want, I have got a business mind, I can manage people in respect of businesses. I can only imagine what you have to do there [Westminster] to survive and I don't play the game, so how can I get in?
"So, when I ask myself the question 'do you want to dip your toes in?' I can't dip my toes in because I'm all or nothing. I go in and I'm going in."