Foreign office minister Jeremy Browne was accused of racism by a heckler on Question Time last night after remarks about the French. Talking about the Anglo-French defence treaty signed by the prime minister and President Sarkozy this week, he said: "We're not merging our Army with France. Our soldiers won't be required to speak French or wear onions round their necks or stripey t-shirts, or ride bicycles."
Foreign office minister Jeremy Browne was accused of racism by a heckler on Question Time last night after remarks about the French. Talking about the Anglo-French defence treaty signed by the prime minister and President Sarkozy this week, he said:
“We’re not merging our Army with France. Our soldiers won’t be required to speak French or wear onions round their necks or stripey t-shirts, or ride bicycles.
“Don’t believe every thing you read in the newspapers.”
Watch it:
Yesterday, Left Foot Forward looked at whether Anglo-French co-operation on nuclear warheads, covered by the treaty, was legal.
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21 Responses to “Lib Dem foreign minister’s French slur”
Anon E Mouse
StephenH – I agree on things being backwards re Tories and Lib Dems but what really frightens me that Labour activists seem to show no intelligence whatsoever when it comes to their party. It’s as if they don’t care.
Why on earth would Left Foot Forward publish this complete non story on the very day Phil Wollas was chucked out of Parliament for lying about racism?
I sincerely hope Labour has the decency to throw Wollas out of the Labour Party instead of funding the inevitable appeal.
Also where is LFF’s damnation of that useless, thieving, imbecile – Denis McShane? Well? Do you not realise how bad Labour looks by effectively condoning that sort of dreadful behaviour?
Why doesn’t LFF start DEMANDING that the Labour leaderships makes itself electable and when something is wrong shout it loud and clear – don’t excuse it.
When Ed Miliband starts banging on about Housing Benefit after HE wrote the Labour manifesto which contained EXACTLY the same policy he should be told to shut up.
If articles like this are the best the left can offer in opposition you can forget them being elected the election after next it will be a generational thing.
Kerry Jenkins
RT @leftfootfwd: Lib Dem foreign minister's French slur: http://bit.ly/a3cdKN #BBCQT by @shamikdas
KevinJump
Didn't stay up for the all of rant fest #bbcqt last night, but it looks like Jeremy Browne continued to have a stinker http://bit.ly/cVOcUZ
Shamik Das
Let’s be clear, at no stage have we called Mr Browne racist nor placed this article in that category. This is a straightforward reporting of the facts.
On Woolas, we will publish something on him very soon and he will feature in Look Left later today.
Mr Jabberwock
“Let’s be clear, at no stage have we called Mr Browne racist nor placed this article in that category. This is a straightforward reporting of the facts.”
Shamik that is the scoundrels defence.
You state that he has slurred the French as the subject of the post and the only allegation is that someone said he was racist. So you certainly appear to any neutral reader to be at the very least egging on the allegation.
This is a most pathetic article; particularly given the timing of it….