This came following an article in The Spectator that suggested that Ireland should rejoin the Commonwealth.
Ireland’s Ambassador to the UK has criticised British political magazine The Spectator for an article which he felt was written in an anti-Irish way.
In a letter written to the publication, Adrian O’Neill wrote: “Over the last couple of years, the prevailing tone and tenor of most Spectator articles relating to Ireland have been snide and hostile – Robert Hardman’s polemical piece about Ireland’s observer status at La Francophonie being an egregious example.”
You can read O’Neill’s letter in full here:
Ambassador @AdrianGONeill’s letter to @spectator @FraserNelson in response to Robert Hardman’s piece about #Ireland and the #Francophonie appears abridged in this week’s magazine. Here’s the full versionđŸ‘‡ pic.twitter.com/GexN0FgUdP
— Embassy of Ireland (@IrelandEmbGB) April 11, 2019
Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan agreed with O’Neill’s letter, showing him support on Twitter:
We call this hitting the nail on the head ! https://t.co/hmMxrpOlBD
— Charlie Flanagan (@CharlieFlanagan) April 12, 2019
In the piece in question, writer Robert Hardman suggested that Ireland should rejoin the commonwealth, as a way of solving current Brexit negotiations.
Hardman wrote: “It would be entirely logical for Ireland to reach out to the millions of proudly Irish or part-Irish citizens across an English–speaking Commonwealth of 53 nations from Canada to India, Australia, and beyond.”
He then added that: “Only the mean-spirited would suggest that little Leo will do anything to suck up to the top gang in the EU playground…”
Previous editors of The Spectator include well-known figure such as Boris Johnson and former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson.
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