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Expats hijack UK ambassador meetup as Tusk gives tirade in Ireland
| Published: | 22 Feb at 6 PM |
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Expats in France are getting angrier and angrier as Brexit grinds on!
The British Ambassador’s recent Brexit question and answer meetup in Paris didn’t quite go as intended, with furious British expatriates grilling and roasting the diplomat over the total lack of protection of their rights. Ambassador Edward Llewellyn ploughed through his planned speech emphasising how Theresa May was protecting expat rights, only to be met with heckling and bitter laughter from the assembled crowd. Worse still, when hit with well-researched and detailed questions from the attendees, the British diplomatic team, including the ambassador, simply failed to answer.
It seems the ambassador wasn’t expecting the response he received, with his reaction to his audience’s derision highlighting the expat strength of feeling about the mismanagement of negotiations in just about every issue important to Britons living in France. The only answer he gave was to one questioner who asked whether the government had any plans for a second referendum, with his predictable reply in double negative mode stating it will not happen and adding ‘A second referendum is not government policy’. Some 100,000 Britons are living in France, almost all of whom don’t want to be forced back to the UK for purely political reasons.
At the same time, European Council president Donald Tusk gave a speech in Ireland, during which he slammed Brexit for having a disastrous effect on the bloc’s plans for a more integrated Europe. During his speech, he complained about the length of time he’s spending attempting to stop the bloc’s disintegration rather than working to ensure member states’ closer ties with each other. Brexit, he said, marks perhaps the saddest moment in Europe’s 21st century history, admitting he's furiously angry about the entire situation.
The British Ambassador’s recent Brexit question and answer meetup in Paris didn’t quite go as intended, with furious British expatriates grilling and roasting the diplomat over the total lack of protection of their rights. Ambassador Edward Llewellyn ploughed through his planned speech emphasising how Theresa May was protecting expat rights, only to be met with heckling and bitter laughter from the assembled crowd. Worse still, when hit with well-researched and detailed questions from the attendees, the British diplomatic team, including the ambassador, simply failed to answer.
It seems the ambassador wasn’t expecting the response he received, with his reaction to his audience’s derision highlighting the expat strength of feeling about the mismanagement of negotiations in just about every issue important to Britons living in France. The only answer he gave was to one questioner who asked whether the government had any plans for a second referendum, with his predictable reply in double negative mode stating it will not happen and adding ‘A second referendum is not government policy’. Some 100,000 Britons are living in France, almost all of whom don’t want to be forced back to the UK for purely political reasons.
At the same time, European Council president Donald Tusk gave a speech in Ireland, during which he slammed Brexit for having a disastrous effect on the bloc’s plans for a more integrated Europe. During his speech, he complained about the length of time he’s spending attempting to stop the bloc’s disintegration rather than working to ensure member states’ closer ties with each other. Brexit, he said, marks perhaps the saddest moment in Europe’s 21st century history, admitting he's furiously angry about the entire situation.
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