Nigel Farage has been condemned for peddling false information after he accused Romanians in Britain of eating swans in royal parks. The Reform UK leader claimed swans were being eaten and carp taken from ponds “by people who come from different cultures”. Pressed on whether eastern Europeans and Romanians were responsible, he said: “So I believe.”
The Royal Parks charity swiftly rejected the claim, stating: “We’ve not had any incidents reported to us of people killing or eating swans in London’s eight Royal Parks.” Labour MPs criticised Farage, with Clive Lewis calling it a “wild conspiracy” and Andy McDonald saying it was a “direct lift from the Trump song book”.
Fizza Qureshi, chief executive of the Migrants’ Rights Network, said Farage was “regurgitating debunked stories” and that his comments were “not only absurd but utterly dangerous”. The claims echo Donald Trump’s unfounded assertions that Haitian migrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
Farage also opened the door to a Trump-style re-evaluation of paracetamol safety, saying “the science is never settled”. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said Farage had “no idea and no backbone”.
