British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said Wednesday, June 8 Turkey remained an ally of the UK but there was no realistic prospect of it joining the EU, BBC News reports.

"Is it going to be a member of the European Union? No, it's not."

Turkey, he said, had "gone backwards" in terms of its democratic institutions and record on human rights and it was a "million miles away" from the EU. "British government policy is that it should not join the European Union today."

In response, Vote Leave said the government stated as recently as April that it supported the principle of Turkish membership. "The government must now urgently clarify whether its policy on Turkey has changed," a spokesman said. "Is it now promising to veto Turkish membership?"