KaleidoScot The Northern end of the rainbow
Brexit campaigners have been sharply criticised for “vile” claim stating that leaving the EU would prevent an “Orlando style atrocity” in the UK.
Hours just after the Orlando massacre the Leave.EU campaign tweeted a poster making the claim that “free movement of Kalashnikovs in Europe helps terrorists.”
The poster, depicting picture of ISIL fighters, was captioned: “Act now before we see an Orlando-style atrocity here before too long.”
The tweet came was less than a day after a gunman killed in cold blood 50 people in Pulse, an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
The UKIP/Nigel Farage-backed group, who failed in a bid to become the official Vote Leave Campaign, has since deleted the poster from its Twitter account.
The Brexit campaigners faced massive backlash, with the tweet labelled “disgusting”, “vile”, “opportunistic” and “project fear.”
Alyn Smith MEP for the SNP told KaleidoScot that he felt “absolute disgust that the Leave campaign is yet again shown to be a horrible group of cynical trolls who will pass up no opportunity to spread their hate and fear in their twisted agenda.
“The gay community well remembers the comments of UKIPers, they’re no friend of us, and it is EU support that has helped advance and protect our rights. We also remember how fast, before the dust was even settled, they were to try to exploit the Brussels attacks.
“This is a shrill, empty campaign that is now explicitly trying to scare people, I can only hope the people of Scotland, and indeed the UK, have more sense and more heart.”
David Allardice, a KaleidoScot reader, originally from Kilwinning, Scotland commented: “I thought it was an online smear or joke until I saw it on their account for myself. It’s absolutely shocking that people should be making political capital out of this even before all the bodies have been identified.
“Regardless of your position on the EU debate this has to be totally unacceptable. It’s playing to people’s greatest fears. I find it particularly ironic when the Leave campaign has been condemning the Remain campaign as ‘Project Fear’.”
Green MP Caroline Lucas said this was “Vile campaigning”.
To say that this campaign is in the gutter would be far too generous. Vile campaigning. https://t.co/OfWLLKeNIl
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) June 13, 2016
Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn said it was “shameful and cowardly”. He added: “Our best protection against terror is standing together whether in Orlando, Paris or Brussels.”
Shameful and cowardly. Our best protection against terror is standing together whether in Orlando, Paris or Brussels https://t.co/Cp0LOqGXxe
— Hilary Benn (@hilarybennmp) June 13, 2016
Tory Education Secretary Nicky Morgan told the group: “This is really shameful.”
.@LeaveEUOfficial This is really shameful.
— Nicky Morgan (@NickyMorgan01) June 13, 2016
While Labour MP Jonathan Reynolds called it disgusting.
This is disgusting https://t.co/ljNIFd2jxa
— Jonathan Reynolds MP (@jreynoldsMP) June 13, 2016
Journalist and C4 presented Jon Snow said the Brexit campaign clambers into political sewer trying to link Orlando horror with the referendum campaign.
@LeaveEUOfficial EU clambers intio the political sewer trying to link Orlando horror with the referendum campaign .https://t.co/Hhj8BOLAuj
— Jon Snow (@jonsnowC4) June 13, 2016
He also added another tweet saying the campaign had faced a huge backlash.
