Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Stephen Hawking: Brexit is too complex even for me

'I deal with tough mathematical questions every day but please don’t ask me to help with Brexit,' says the world famous physicist 

Maya Oppenheim
Tuesday 01 November 2016 17:31 GMT
Comments
Stephen Hawking cracks Brexit joke with Theresa May at Pride of Britain awards

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Stephen Hawking might be one of the world’s most celebrated scientists worldwide but he has confessed that even he is not cut out to tackle Brexit.

The physicist, cosmologist and professor made the announcement while receiving an award from Theresa May at the Pride of Britain Awards on Monday night.

After the Prime Minister presented him with a lifetime achievement award at the event, Hawking said withdrawing Britain from the European Union was too difficult a task for even him to address.

“Thank you Prime Minister for those very kind words,” Hawking said while recieving the award.

“I deal with tough mathematical questions every day, but please don’t ask me to help with Brexit,” he then quipped, prompting laughter from the crowd. Even Ms May could not contain her amusement and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn could be glimpsed laughing and clapping in the crowd.

Hawking has previously argued the referendum verdict could have a damaging impact on the availability of funding and grants for imperative research such as the work he has carried out in the course of his career. Hawking has also drawn attention to the fact there is already some evidence of British scientists being frozen out of European projects.

The Pride of Britain Awards is an annual ceremony which honours British people who have acted extraordinarily and courageously in difficult situations.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in