An Observer film examining the lives of internet “trolls” has highlighted the remarkable case of an immigrant-hating Brit with a Thai wife.
‘The Internet Warriors’ (above) by filmmaker Kyrre Lien is the result of a three-year study of those behind outspoken and often offensive social media accounts.
The first subject to appear is 50-year-old steelworker, Robert Jackson.
Worried about Britain falling apart because of “so-called refugees”, he says: “I really don’t care where they are from, or which war they are fleeing.
He adds: “I am against all immigration.”
He then vents at the government because it cost him “thousands” to bring his Thai wife into the country.
The irony was not lost on readers of the article.
In a similar incident last week, a BBC Question Time audience member was criticised after insisting England should “look after its own first” despite having a Russian wife.
The pony-tailed gentleman also caused confusion when he suggested he wouldn’t be too bothered if his “foreign” friends weren’t guaranteed the right to stay in Britain after Brexit.
Last week’s show, broadcast from Bedford, debated at length the recent House of Lords vote to give EU citizens living in the UK guaranteed rights to stay after the triggering of Article 50.
The man in question told the panel: “I’m sick and tired of hearing politicians and everybody say that British people don’t know what we voted for.
“We voted to get out of the single market, we voted to get out of EU and we voted to become Great Britain again and not part of Europe.
“I’m sick of people saying we can’t use the word ‘foreigner’ about people that have come here. My wife is Russian, she’s a foreigner, but she’s my wife and I’m proud of her.”
Host David Dimbleby replied: “Your wife is your wife but she is not one of the three million EU citizens - what do you say about them to people who are?”
But he insisted: “It doesn’t matter, I live in a block of 10 places. Eight of them places are foreigners. But I still get on with them, they’re still my friends.”
Dimbleby pressed him: “So you’d like to see a guarantee given?”
He responded: “No, I want England to look after its own first.”
Many on social media pointed out it seemed a little odd that the man was calling for “England to look after its own” given his wife was Russian...