“The Irish Republican Teabag.”
David Coburn, a Brexit MEP with the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group (EFDD), has disparagingly referred to Leo Varadkar and the Taoiseach’s office as ‘the Irish Republican Teabag’.
Coburn sent the message on social media as a reply to a tweet which claimed that the border issue in Ireland is a hoax.
The original message stated that the “Irish border issue is a hoax. We already operate a different currency, tax rates, excise duties between North and South with no problem. The Common Travel Area is a result of a bilateral agreement between Ireland and UK going back to 1923. It has nothing to do with EU.”
Coburn replied by saying: “And if the Irish Republican Teabag wants to build a wall then the Republic can pay for it.”
Of course, the word Taoiseach means “chief” or “leader” as Gaelige and was adopted in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland as the title of the “head of the Government, or Prime Minister.”
Here’s the conversation in full.
And if the Irish Republican Teabag wants to build a wall then The Republic can pay for it
— David Coburn (@coburn4ukunion) January 16, 2019
With regards to Mr Coburn’s political background, he was the leader of Ukip in Scotland until he quit in December 2018. He has also been a Member of the European Parliament for Scotland since 2014.
This isn’t the first time his comments have landed him in controversy.
In 2015, Coburn compared Scottish government minister Humza Yousaf to the convicted terrorist Abu Hamza. At the time of that particular remark, EU President Martin Schulz said that the remarks were “not worthy of any elected member”. Nigel Farage also stated that this was a “joke in poor taste”.
During the 2017 UK general election, Coburn unsuccessfully ran for the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency. He secured just 1.2% of the vote.
He resigned from Ukip in December.
Since Coburn sent the message on Twitter about the Taoiseach, plenty of people have succinctly reminded him to have some respect and refer to the office in the correct way.
https://twitter.com/benarchibald/status/1085685480866410496
…and there ye go! Ye need some ointment for your knuckles that are trailing the ground?
— Peadar MacÍomhair (@bigpete1974) January 16, 2019
Does mocking the language make you feel better?
— Jane Harding (@sineadrua123) January 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/mjc0ughlan/status/1085646692081225731
https://twitter.com/darwhi24/status/1085669194815946752
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