THE IRISH MEP who went viral after cutting off Nigel Farage’s microphone during his final speech in the European Parliament has revealed that several of his fellow Brexiteers backed with her actions.
Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness became a social media sensation after shutting down Farage midway through his acid-tongued diatribe against the EU.
First Vice-President of the European Parliament, Ms McGuinness turned his mic off, mid-sentence, citing the fact both he was breaking parliament rules by waving a Union Jack flag.
“Please sit down, resume your seats, put your flags away, you’re leaving,” she said in the clip.
“And take them with you if you’re leaving now. Goodbye.”
Speaking to The Journal in the wake of the video’s viral success, Ms McGuinness stressed she was not only bound by the rules of the chamber to cut Farage off but that several of his Brexit Party members agreed with her actions.
“The reason I cut the mic off was to stop a circus, it’s a parliament, not a circus,” she said.
“Politics is a serious business and Nigel Farage has used the platform of our parliament to destroy the European Union.
“If by doing what I did reinforces the dignity of the parliament, that’s my job.
“I would say that afterwards, some of the people in his grouping came over and said that they disliked what he did and that he did it.
“When you’re not in the chamber it can be hard to judge the moment, but I have to judge the moment carefully, and we have a rule in the house that no flags are to be shown except the two behind the podium, and the president insists on that, and I’m under orders.”
Mairead McGuinness doing Ireland and the EU proud. As Nigel Farage tries to be as rude and as arrogant as possible.
“Please Sit Down,
Put your flags away. You’re leaving.
And take them with you!
(Parliament then erupts in applause)
Goodbye!” 🎤 pic.twitter.com/ppw0fGqaWZ— Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@OxfordDiplomat) January 29, 2020
She also warned that Europe has most likely not seen the last of Farage, who she thinks will continue to spread his anti-EU message across the rest of the continent.
“He’s going to continue, just not in the European Parliament,” she said.
“He’s not going to stop now, he’s not retiring, he’s going to keep going not just in the UK but right throughout the European Union, so the challenge we face might be greater from a European perspective.”
