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As controversial British politician Nigel Farage confirmed he will be running as an MP, a car-crash interview from 2021 has started doing the rounds.
The former UKIP leader and Brexiteer made a shocking U-turn on his General Election stance on Monday as he announced his return as leader of Reform UK Party for the next five years, a role he previously left in 2021 and was held by Richard Tice until now.
He will be vying for his seat in Clacton, Essex – which currently has a Tory majority of 24,702 – in his eighth attempt to become an MP as he embarks on his campaign trail.
The divisive public figure, who has previously been accused of spreading ‘pure Islamophobia’ and using ‘homophobic racial’ slurs has now been ridiculed for his poor track record on Irish politics after he was forced to apologise for accidentally supporting the IRA [Irish Republican Army].
A resurfaced viral clip shows an interview between Nigel, 60 and RTE broadcaster and Irish presenter Claire Byrne and was captioned: ‘Farage gets a good shoeing from a lovely Irish reporter. Let’s do the same over here.’
During the takedown, Farage was discussing Irish nationalists’ ‘500-year fight for independence’ as he criticised the nation’s ongoing relationship with the EU when Byrne reminded him of an infamous birthday message he delivered on the paid-for-service Cameo.
‘People will be entertained to hear you, Nigel, talking about this,’ she remarked before showing viewers the birthday message clip to a man named Brian Ó Céileachair.
The former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! contestant loudly proclaimed ‘up the RA’ while holding a coffee cup.
The presenter continued: ‘Look, I know you apologised for the birthday greeting which you delivered in the last couple of days.
‘I want people to see just how much you know about the history and culture of this island.’
At the time Nigel told MailOnline: ‘If I saw “up the RA” I would have looked at that as something very innocent, and wouldn’t have even known there was an implication to it.’
He then heavily refuted he would ever knowingly endorse the IRA.
What does ‘Up the RA’ mean?
‘Up the RA’ was a popular chant used in support of the IRA and was soon popularised as a cultural slogan in 1989 after its inclusion in viral hit Celtic Symphony by the Wolfe Tones.
In 2022 the phrase, associated with the Troubles-era IRA, stirred controversy after the Irish women’s soccer team played and sang along to the well-known anthem in their dressing room.
Football manager Vera Pauw publicly apologised after the clip went vira, saying ‘we are so sorry because there is no excuse for hurting people. It was unnecessary,’ according to the Irish Times.
The chant is often used alongside other republican slogans such as ‘Tiocfaidh ár lá’ and ‘Brits out’.
Now people on social media are rinsing Nigel for the faux-pas and praising the presenter as they look toward his upcoming media appearances as he goes for the Clacton seat.
‘So sad that a few more presenters, this side of the water don’t stop him bullying & shouting his way through an interview. You’d almost think they feared him. Well done that woman. This is how to stop him,’ @spanglish51 wrote.
‘This is exactly what every journalist should do. Call this f**king clown out rather than just sit back and let him rant all his made up rubbish,’ @mikesglove added.
‘Well ..we could do with more of this over here!’ @kateycon agreed.
Farage has already blundered his way through his recent media round.
Prior to announcing he would in fact stand in the election he appeared on Question Time at the end of May.
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He was asked by BBC presenter Fiona Bruce why he had come onto the show he had said: ‘Don’t ask me, you invited me on the show.’
Bruce, 60, then brutally replied: ‘We actually asked Lee Anderson but he wasn’t available to come on.’
Anderson is a former Conservative Party member and defected to Reform UK in 2024.
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Viewers at home elated at Bruce essentially telling the politician that he was the second choice for the gig.
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