To Reform UK, which is continuing to lead Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party in the polls. Nigel Farage has led a successful summer campaign on crime rates, small boats and legal migration. But as conference season begins, the Reform leader has come under scrutiny for one of his more bizarre campaign messages – namely that eastern European migrants are, er, eating British swans. It’s certainly a headline grabber!
This morning, Farage was quizzed on LBC about President Donald Trump’s election campaign claim that US immigrants were eating cats and dogs. While the Reform leader admitted that the claim was unproven, he added:
If I said to you that swans were being eaten in Royal Parks in this country, that carp were being taken out of ponds and eaten in this country by people who come [from elsewhere] would you agree it happened, is happening here?
Going on, Farage said that he ‘believed’ the culprits to be eastern Europeans – ‘people who come from countries where it is quite acceptable to do so’. The maximum sentence for intentionally killing or injuring a wild bird, including a swan, is six months in prison – yet the Clacton MP has provided no evidence to support his statement, which has been robustly debunked by the Royal Parks charity which protects the eight Royal Parks across the country.
A spokesperson insisted:
We’ve not had any incidents reported to us of people killing or eating swans in London’s eight Royal Parks. Our wildlife officers work closely with the Swan Sanctuary to ensure the welfare of the swans across the parks.
Panic over!
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