Nigel Farage and his fellow Brexit Party MEPs were rebuked for waving Union Jack flags during his final speech at the European Parliament in Brussels. The incident occurred as MEPs debated Boris Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement before voting on ratification.
Farage insisted the UK “is never coming back” to the EU, addressing predictions from Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt that the UK would eventually rejoin. He described the departure as “the point of no return” and said the UK had shown it was “too big to bully” by sticking to the Brexit referendum result.
Earlier, Farage and his allies jeered European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Later, Brexit Party MEPs gave three cheers as Farage said “that’s it, we’re out” after being told to remove the flags. In his speech, Farage said he hoped Brexit would “start a debate across the rest of Europe” and described the EU project as “anti-democratic”.
Von der Leyen bid farewell to UK MEPs, quoting George Eliot: “Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depth of love.” She added, “We will always love you and we will never be far.”
