Bridgen: ‘Everyone in England is entitled to an Irish passport’
Tory MP and Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen (Photograph; House of Commons) - Credit: Archant
Brexiteer MP Andrew Bridgen has taken his ignorance over Ireland to new heights - this time by claiming that everyone in England is entitled to an Irish passport.
The Tory MP for West Leicestershire appears to have learned nothing from his last car-crash interview over Ireland when he was left silenced by radio host Audrey Carville.
This time the European Research Group member made the brazen claim to Stephen Nolan on Radio 5 Live that 'as an Englishman, I understand I'm entitled to an Irish passport.'
On this basis, he believes that solving the Irish border will be no problem - despite repeatedly misunderstanding the issue in his radio appearances.
MORE: Revealed: The hidden political chicanery behind Brexit
Bridgen made the baffling claim on the same day that the EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier tweeted 'despite intense efforts, some key issues are still open, including the backstop for IE/NI to avoid a hard border.'
Thomas Cole, head of policy at Open Britain, tweeted that 'there is no such agreement which exists.'
MORE: There's plenty we can all do to stop Brexit... but do it now
You may also want to watch:
He added: 'Under the Good Friday Agreement, Northern Irish citizens can choose between a UK and Irish passport but that does not apply to the UK as a whole.'
Last month Bridgen became stuck in an interview on RTE Radio 1 about the practicalities of the Brexiteers' alternative plan for the United Kingdom.
Twitter users claimed he was guilty of 'alarming ignorance' and that he was 'woefully out of his depth.'
MORE: University wins case after Conservative MP demands details of Brexit lecturers
MORE: Stay angry, fight Brexit - subscribe to The New European
Most Read
- 1 Minister terminates interview after suggesting public's age and weight to blame for UK's high death toll
- 2 European parliament agrees to add British overseas territories to post-Brexit tax haven blacklist
- 3 This picture of Boris Johnson on the phone to Joe Biden has caused a stir
- 4 Telegraph columnist blames Angela Merkel for Brexit
- 5 Nigel Farage loses nearly 50,000 followers after Twitter suspends QAnon accounts
- 6 Former Brexit Party MEP dies in diving accident in the Bahamas
- 7 Bob Geldof takes swipe at No 10 saying 'lying is second nature' to them
- 8 Brexiteer calls for UK to save Eurostar - by buying it and renaming it 'Britstar'
- 9 The greatest failure of government in our lifetime
- 10 Tory minister admits UK rejected EU's music visa offer in order to 'take back control' of borders
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
