British Politician Admits He Didn't Read Study He Was Citing

British politicians have a reputation for their unbridled candor -- even when it doesn't work in their favor.

Case in point: former London Mayor Boris Johnson. While participating in a debate about Brexit cohosted by HuffPost UK , Johnson said that leaving the EU would help England's poorest. The Uxbridge MP has for months  argued that Britain should not remain in the union, becoming somewhat of a figurehead for the movement.

"People on low incomes would see their wages rise, and that strikes me as a very importance consequence of voting to leave. ... It's true to what the Bank of England has confirmed," he said.

"Who in the Bank of England said that?" asked former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond. Salmond, who is currently an MP, was contending that the U.K. should remain in the EU. 

"It was a Bank of England study," Johnson said. 

"Have you read the study, Boris? Have you actually read it?" Salmond said.

"I have not read that study," Johnson said.

The Bank of England has warned that abandoning the EU could actually do serious harm to the U.K. economy. British Prime Minister David Cameron has also said that the country's poorest would actually be hit hardest by a Brexit.

Brits head to the polls on June 23rd to vote on whether or not the country will leave the EU. Perhaps Johnson will have time to check out the study before then.