UKIP leader deletes tweet claiming only 100 lorries a day cross Irish border
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UKIP leader deletes tweet claiming only 100 lorries a day cross Irish border

UKIP leader Gerard Batten has deleted a tweet that claimed only 100 lorries a day cross the Irish border – and that half of them carry Guinness.

The MEP tweeted the bizarre stat yesterday in response to a discussion on James O’Brien’s LBC show about the backstop and the possibility of a hard border in the event of a no deal Brexit.

The tweet was quickly criticised by Irish journalist Richard Chambers, who branded it ‘astonishing bollocks’.

(Image: Twitter / Gerard Batten MEP)

Batten has now tweeted to clarify his original statement, citing a former Swiss diplomat as his source.

He said that his tweet about the Irish border related to the main Dublin-Belfast Road.

There are at least 208 crossing points on the border, compared to 137 along the EU’s entire eastern border.

In his original tweet, Batten wrote: “Here's a fact about the Irish border. There are approx 100 lorries per day crossing the ROI & NI border. This accounts for 0.5 per cent of the UK/EU trade. One company accounts for 50 per cent of these trips - that company is Guinness. And this is the false premise that is holding up Brexit.”

According to statistics organisation Statista, 177,000 trucks cross the border every month, as well as 208,000 vans and 1.85million cars.

Chambers was quick to pull up Batten on his original tweet, and he wasn’t the only one…

Batten today wrote to the Queen requesting her to suspend Parliament until after March 29 to thwart MPs, who he claims are trying to delay Brexit.