Tory MEP who’s so ashamed of Brexit he wants to be Irish
A TORY MEP was scorned by colleagues last night after declaring he had got an Irish passport because he was ‘ashamed to be British’ since the Brexit vote.
Charles Tannock said he was a ‘passionate remainer’ who was ‘virulently opposed to Brexit’ and was even considering not renewing his British passport.
Leading Leave campaigner and Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg yesterday dismissed his comments as unpatriotic.
Quoting George Canning, the Conservative prime minister in 1827, he said: ‘A steady patriot of the world alone, The friend of every country but his own.’
Dr Tannock, 59, an MEP for 18 years, was eligible for Irish citizenship because his grandmother was born in Dublin in 1895.
Speaking about the referendum result, he told the Irish Times: ‘I deeply regret the Brexit outcome. It was done on a slim majority on a broad franchise. And there were a pack of lies and false promises made.’
He criticised the ‘arrogance and hubris, the petty nationalism, the triumphalism’ of members of his own party during the vote, but insisted he would remain a Conservative. He also conceded that he became interested in his Irish ancestry after the vote: ‘It has been awakened by Brexit because, to be honest, I am quite ashamed to be British in many ways.’
Last night, Brexit- supporting Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘If he is ashamed to be British, he should do the decent thing and stand down as a British MEP. I suspect his principles won’t extend to giving up his place on the EU gravy train, though – in fact, it is probably the ending of that which has upset him so much.’
Fellow Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘It’s a good job he’s being made redundant in 18 months because with comments like that I’d hope he’d never be elected again. He’s clearly no believer in democracy and in that respect he’s perfectly suited to his office.’
Dr Tannock, an Oxford-educated former psychiatrist, is foreign affairs and human rights spokesman for the UK Conservative delegation in the European Parliament. British MEPs earn an annual salary of £93,670 and also claim expenses.
Anyone who has a parent who is
‘He should stand down’
an Irish citizen at the time of their birth can get a passport. Citizenship can also be granted if a grandparent was born in Ireland, even if a parent was not.
Hampshire-born Dr Tannock’s grandmother was born in Dublin. She moved with her mother to England and later married an English man. Their daughter, Dr Tannock’s mother, was born in the UK.
Around 50,000 Irish passports are usually issued in Britain each year, the outgoing Irish ambassador to Britain Dan Mulhall has said.
The number issued before the Brexit vote rose 40 per cent last year. And last month, Mr Mulhall said he expected it to double this year.
Dr Tannock said he decided to get an Irish passport so he still had a link to Europe but would continue to use his British passport for the immediate future.
‘I love being European, I love being Irish, I love being British and I don’t see any incompatibility between them,’ he added.
‘As a British MEP, my duty is to carry on travelling as a British citizen but I am seriously considering after Brexit about whether I will renew my British passport if we head in the very hostile direction towards the rest of Europe.’