The former British prime minister David Cameron has acknowledged that 'some people will never forgive' him for calling the Brexit referendum.
He's also criticised his former Tory allies Boris Johnson and Michael Gove - accusing them of 'appalling' behaviour during the 2016 campaign.
Mr Cameron's Conservative party pledged in the 2015 British general election to hold a vote on the UK's EU membership, and followed through on the pledge in 2016.
The prime minister himself campaigned for 'remain' in the 2016 vote, after securing some renegotiated terms with the EU ahead of the referendum.
However, voters ultimately backed Brexit by 52% to 48% - with Mr Cameron immediately resigning in the wake of the result.
Speaking to The Times newspaper, the former prime minister said: "Some people will never forgive me for holding a referendum. Others for holding it and losing it.
"This issue needed to be addressed and I thought a referendum was coming, so better to try to get some reforms we needed and have a referendum. But I accept that, you know, that effort failed.
"I do understand some people are very angry because they didn’t want to leave the EU. Neither did I.”
He acknowledged the ongoing uncertainty over Brexit had been "painful and difficult" for "all sorts of people", and admitted he thinks about the situation every day.
He observed: "Every single day I think about it, the referendum and the fact that we lost and the consequences and the things that could have been done differently, and I worry desperately about what is going to happen next."
Mr Cameron said he doesn't believe a second Brexit referendum can be ruled out "because we're stuck".
He said while he wished Boris Johnson well, he 'didn't support' the new prime minister's decision to prorogue parliament nor the move to expel more than 20 Conservative MPs from the party.
"Neither do I think a no-deal Brexit is a good idea," he stressed.
In an upcoming book, Mr Cameron criticises Mr Johnson and Brexiteer minister Michael Gove for behaving 'appallingly' during the Brexit campaign.
In the Times interview, he suggested: "Boris had never argued for leaving the EU, right?
"Michael was a very strong Eurosceptic, but someone whom I’d known as this liberal, compassionate, rational Conservative ended up making arguments about Turkey [joining] and being swamped and what have you. They were trashing the government of which they were a part, effectively.”
