The 'Brexit campaign' has entered new territory, with London's former Mayor, Boris Johnson, quoted as making some rather inflammatory comments.
The most high-profile pro-Brexit campaigner is now accused of being offensive and desperate.
British media are reporting that Mr Johnson described the European Union as trying achieve the same goal as Hitler, in seeking to unify the bloc under one authority.
While fellow Brexit campaign members backed Boris Johnson's sentiments, the UK's Labour opposition foreign affairs spokesman Hilary Benn did not.
"To try and compare Hitler and the Nazis, the millions of people who died in the Second World War, the Holocaust, with the free democracies of Europe coming together to trade and cooperate, and in the process to help bring peace to the continent of Europe after centuries of war is, frankly, deeply offensive."
Former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont says Mr Johnson's remarks have been misunderstood.
He says the headlines have been misleading.
"He was simply saying that historically from the Romans, Charlemagne, Napoleon, there have been all sorts of attempts to dominate Europe and these have all floundered because Europe is not naturally one entity."
At a recent event, Mr Johnson urged Britain's voters to speak up for freedom and vote to leave the European Union.
"I'm telling you, I'm telling you, that if we vote 'leave' on June the 23rd and take back control of this country, and our democracy and our economy, then we can prosper and thrive and flourish as never before."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is in the 'remain' camp, and argues that EU legislation has helped protect workers' rights from attacks by the British conservative government.
"Their agenda is to end the Working Time Directive; their agenda is to take away that protection; their agenda is to take away the four weeks' holiday that we won all across Europe. Their whole concept is of undercut, undercut, undercut - increase profit at one end, increase misery at the other end. Our agenda is solidarity; our agenda is equality; our agenda is rights at the workplace, right to join a trade union, right to be represented and right to have decent working conditions."
The EU's Working Time Directive guarantees workers a limit to weekly working hours, which must not exceed 48 hours on average.
And even some who are said to remain independent of politics appear to have been caught up in the debate.
The Bank of England's Governor, Mark Carney, recently warned that a UK vote to leave could cause a recession.
It's sparked calls for him to resign, with accusations he's not remaining impartial.
But he's told the BBC he would be failing the British public if he did not identify dangers in advance of potential changes to policy.
"We're not linked to the bigger questions about the longer term economic impact of being in or out. What we are doing is we are identifying risks around 'leave' and we are taking steps as an institution to mitigate those risks."
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