If I were PM, I'd remind Britons they are Europeans, Nick Clegg tells WGS 2023

Britons are fighting against their geography and heritage, Meta president says

Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, concludes the World Government Summit with a talk entitled 'The Emirates: A Family of Solid Roots and a Vibrant Future'. WAM

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, listens to Sheikh Saif. WAM

Najla Bouden, Prime Minister of Tunisia, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Wavel Ramkalawan, President of Seychelles, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Dr Maeen Saeed, Prime Minister of Yemen and Panagiotis Pikrammenos, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece, at the summit. Photo: Presidential Court

Joko Widodo, President, Government of the Republic of Indonesia speaking at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Huda AlHashimi, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, United Arab Emirates during the interview at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Left to Right - Nasser Al-Khater, Chief Executive Officer, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and Najeeb AlAli, Executive Director, Expo 2020 Bureau speaking during the session on Hosting Major Events: An Arab Success Story at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Elon Musk and Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, speak on day three of the World Government Summit in Dubai. Mr Al Gergawi is also chairman of the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group, speaking during a session called 'Beyond 2023: A Global Outlook'. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates gather at Madinat Jumeirah for the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, presents the World Data Visualisation Award to Lindsey Poulter. Pawan Singh / The National

Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, addresses delegates at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

National flags displayed at the global event. Pawan Singh / The National

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the event using a video link. Antonie Robertson / The National

People gather for the second day of the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National

Huda Al Hashimi, right, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, on stage with Waleed Al Ali, left, Secretary General of the Digital School, and Reda Hegazy, Egypt's Minister of Education. Antonie Robertson / The National

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Cop28 President-designate, speaks during a session titled The Road Map to Cop28: Prioritising Action. Pawan Singh / The National

Dr Al Jaber, who is also the UAE's special envoy for climate change, addresses delegates in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Day two of the World Government Summit. Antonie Robertson/The National

Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Work System, and Nick Clegg, president of Global Affairs at Meta, at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief of The National newspaper, Kersti Kaljulaid, fifth President of Estonia, and Mona Al Marri, vice president of the UAE Gender Balance Council. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates during the session on Women in Government: Powering the Future. Pawan Singh / The National

President Sheikh Mohamed, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohamed greets Mr El Sisi. Photo: Presidential Court

Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award to the winners as Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, looks on. Photo: Presidential Court

Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award. Photo: Presidential Court

Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award. Photo: Presidential Court

Sky News Arabia's media relations director Faisal bin Huraiz sits alongside Mr El Sisi at the summit. EPA

Francesco La Camera, Director General of International Renewabale Energy Agency, speaks at the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National

Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence at the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National

Mohamed Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer, Masdar. Antonie Robertson / The National

Marco Dunand, CEO and Co-founder, Mercuria Energy Group. Antonie Robertson/The National

Christian Bruch, President and CEO, Siemens Energy. Antonie Robertson / The National

Ahmed Bahrozyan, chief executive of the Public Transport Agency at the RTA. Antonie Robertson / The National

RTA's flyng taxi and sky port project powered by Joby. Virtual simulation of the flying experience. Antonie Robertson / The National

will.i.am speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Doron Avni, Google VP of Government Affairs and Public Policy Emerging Markets speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Sujay Jaswa, Founder and Managing Partner, WndrCo speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the chairman of the World Government Summit, delivers the opening speech. Pawan Singh / The National

Al Gergawi highlighted the rapid change the world has seen in the decade since the event was first held. Pawan Singh / The National

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, speaks at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili speaks at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Al Gergawi and Schwab held a joint discussion. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates standing during the moment of silence for the Turkey – Syria earthquake before the start of World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

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Former British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said Britons have been fighting against their “European destiny” since Brexit.

Mr Clegg, who served from 2010 to 2015 and is now the president of global affairs at Facebook parent Meta, spoke on the second day of the World Government Summit in Dubai.

In an on-stage session, he was asked by Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Working System, what his first decision would be if he were elected as UK’s prime minister today.

“In the United Kingdom, I would restore an appreciation of and respect for geography,” said Mr Clegg, who led the pro-European Union Liberal Democrats in a ruling coalition with the Conservative Party.

“My own view is that ever since 2016, and the Brexit referendum, the country has been enveloped by this sort of furious debate which is trying to deny geography.

“We are tectonically, historically and in culture a European nation, and yet we seem to have sort of fought against geography and our European destiny.”

Several recent polls have shown that many Britons regretted Brexit. A Statista survey showed 54 per cent said it was wrong to leave, compared with 34 per cent who still backed it.

When asked if he wanted to reverse Brexit, Mr Clegg said that “it was up to future generations”.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said last month that Britain had made "huge strides" in taking up opportunities provided by leaving the EU, and had become an "independent nation".

Mr Clegg joined Meta, the company that owns Facebook, in 2018.

He spoke about how Meta is using artificial intelligence to improve its products, including helping reduce hate speech by 80 per cent on Facebook.

"We use AI systems already, for a whole range of things, also for protective reasons," he said.

"So, if you look at the, for instance, the reduction of measured hate speech on Facebook… how much hate speech can you find in terms in terms of proportional to total content on Facebook, it's now down to 0.02 per cent.

"That means that for every 10,000 bits of content that might scroll on your Facebook newsfeed will find two bits of hate speech.

“I wish it could be down to zero, I think it's going to be zero. But it's been reduced by I think around 80 per cent over the last two years because of advances in AI."