Brexiteers of the Week: David Starkey tries to rewrite history over Brexit

Dr David Starkey, Historian, speaks at the British Values conference at Kingsford Community School in Beckton. Photograph: Vickie Flores/Archant. - Credit: Archant

STEVE ANGLESEY takes a look at all of the Brexiteers making the headlines for the wrong reasons.

DAVID STARKEY

He might be a popular historian but Starkey is not so good when it comes to current events, telling journalist Christopher ‘Chopper’ Hope’s podcast that during the 2016 referendum, ‘Apart from the Telegraph, everyone in the mainstream media was against the Brexiteers.’ Quite right too, apart from that the Sun and Mail also supported Leave – quite significant as they are the best-selling papers in Britain – along with the Sunday Times, the Sun on Sunday and both versions of the Express.

Starkey also claimed that Henry VIII was ‘the original Brexiteer’, adding that despite the whole Reformation thing, Henry had ‘remained a Catholic – although a funny sort of Catholic as he didn’t believe in the Pope’.


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NIGEL FARAGE

The Brexit Party leader is in talks to appear in the next series of Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted, the show in which stars spend a fortnight on the run, trying to evade capture by an elite team. Ideas on where Nigel might hide include Moscow, a lilypad and up Donald Trump’s a**e and a ‘pal’ told the Sun ‘those around him think he could actually win. They’ve joked about the amount of pubs who’d open their doors for him to have a pint and possibly stick him in the cellar for a few hours’.

MORE: They hated the EU now Brexiteers like Katie Hopkins hate the UK too

ANDREW BRIDGEN

North West Leicestershire’s brainy MP is calling for the government to refuse to pay the so-called £39 billion EU divorce bill. Bridgen said: ‘Circumstances have changed. The UK taxpayer now has a major bill to pick up… We cannot afford to pay huge sums of money.’

Even ERG chairman Mark Francois pointed out that as the £39bn was a commitment in the Withdrawal Agreement it would be hard to rewrite, adding: ‘Moreover, extending the transition could cost billions more in additional payments to the EU.’ Imagine having an idea so bad that even Mark Francois can see it!

ROGER HELMER

Sir Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and the Rolling Stones were among the stars taking part in One World: Together at Home, aka the ‘lockdown Live Aid’. But one ageing entertainer did not get the invite and had to strike out alone.

Former MEP Helmer, best known for being photographed ‘resting his eyes’ inside the EU parliament chamber, delighted admirers by posting a YouTube video of himself at home reading from the works of 11th century poet and philosopher Omar Khayyam. Alas, the 23 brave viewers of Roger’s recital must have found themselves distracted by the large bronze statue by our hero’s head, which appears to show a topless Britannia. Worst still, she appears to be looking at a large tome on Roger’s bookshelf titled The Nude. Drool Britannia, anyone?