As the Telegraph’s Brussels correspondent between 1989 and 1994, he invented a self-serving journalistic genre that set a poisonous tone for British EU reporting.

Seven years since the referendum, how have the “promises” made by the most prominent Brexiteers panned out? Here’s a rundown of the 10 most spectacular untruths.

His [Boris Johnson's] speech delivered at a Europa warehouse in Dartford, Kent repeated several Leave campaign myths. InFacts looks at seven of them.

Claims by Boris Johnson that regulations imposed by “Brussels bureaucrats” were damaging the trade in kippers have been debunked by the European commission, which said that the food safety obligations criticised by him were due to rules set by Britain.

There are more than 80 such zones across the Union.

Boris Johnson claimed at Prime Minister’s Questions that Brexit “has given us the freedom to establish eight freeports across the country”. / And the IfG makes clear: “the UK could create freeports as a member of the EU”.

To mark the first anniversary of the trade deal between the UK and the EU, Downing Street issued a press release about how prime minister Boris Johnson plans to "maximise the benefits of Brexit".

The EU has accused UK leadership hopeful Boris Johnson of fake news over his complaint that "Brussels bureaucrats" made life hard for smoked herring sellers. It emerged that the rules were made by the UK, and not the EU.

Boris Johnson’s claim that British kipper producers are being hit by EU food safety rules was branded "fake news" by Brussels, after it emerged the regulations had been imposed by the UK government.

2024: Boris Johnson says the UK had the fastest vaccine rollout because we left the EU / 2020: Dr June Raine (then CEO of the MHRA speaking at a Downing Street briefing) says the UK approved the vaccine rollout while under EU rules

Boris Johnson challenged in parliamentary committee on his claims that the EU bans children from blowing up balloons and bans recycling of tea bags.

"The law that P&O are allegedly relying on was introduced as a result of EU directives... He [Starmer] would have kept us unable to change it... He would have made it impossible to protect UK employees" (Johnson). / Ireland & Spain banned fire & rehire. Both are in the EU.