Comedian Patrick Kielty has rubbished Boris Johnson’s suggestions for a ‘better Brexit’ in a string of late-night tweets.
The 47-year-old, who was just 16 when his father, Jack, was shot by loyalist paramilitaries during the Troubles, told the former foreign secretary that his “Brexit lies have opened a Pandora’s box for Northern Ireland”.
In a thread featuring more than 20 tweets, the TV host explained where Johnson’s plan goes wrong, adding: “You will be remembered not as the Churchillian visionary you delude yourself to be but the ignoramus who triggered the break up of the UK”.
It followed Johnson’s latest Telegraph column titled “My plan for a better Brexit” which set out action points for a country he longs to see after Britain leaves the European Union.
It included drawing up a “SuperCanada” trade deal which would see, among other things, no tariffs and quotas on imports and exports between the UK and the EU.
Such a deal would jeopardise the Good Friday agreement - a vital component of the Northern Irish peace process achieved in the late 1990s - with the introduction of a customs border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Kielty’s thread - which has gone viral with tens of thousands of retweets - is here in full.
Several Twitter users expressed little hope that the funnyman’s points would be acknowledged.
Mark Fairclough wrote: “Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how well @PatricKielty or anyone else explains the issues/potential upset Brexit will create in NI to @BorisJohnson, it won’t sink in and he’ll continue with his blinkered, ignorant proposals and policies anyway. I just hope he never becomes PM!”
Boris Johnson has previously downplayed the importance of the border, likening it to the point between the London boroughs of Camden and Islington.
The Irish border has been a sticking point in Brexit negotiations, with Theresa May insisting there will not be border controls between Ireland, which will remain in the EU, and Northern Ireland - despite an unclear alternative.
Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum.