Brexit party leader Nigel Farage has faced widespread outrage on social media over the past days after accusations he broke the mandatory UK quarantine to go to the pub.
Farage - who recently returned from a trip to the US - had posted a photo on Twitter on 20 June ahead of President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In the USA, only twenty four hours from Tulsa. pic.twitter.com/9fQipWYr3a
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 20, 2020
Farage's presence in the states flies in the face of current rules, which should have seen him banned from entry due to current coronavirus measures. In fact, Farage only got in due to the argument that he was travelling in "national interest", a claim that has already seen criticism within the states.
Regardless, of the finer points of his trip, Farage is understood to have flown home later that day before placing himself under the mandatory 14-day quarantine currently in effect for anyone returning to the UK from abroad.
Well, as many Twitter users have pointed out, it was actually only 13.5 days before he ventured out for a lunchtime beer at a pub.
Coming straight from America, the global epicentre of the Coronavirus, straight to British pubs, completely breaking our quarantine rules... I'm shocked that Mr "It's time we move to an insurance-based system of healthcare" couldn't give two sh**s about our public health! https://t.co/mZJvS6RT5b
— Femi (@Femi_Sorry) July 4, 2020
According to current regulations, anyone who does not uphold a full 14-day quarantine in England faces a £1,000 fine, something which many Twitter users have called for, tagging the local police in posts and reporting the diverse UK politician to all relevant authorities.
However it's not just Twitter that's calling out the former UKIP leader, with acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, announcing that he has written to Kent Police asking for investigations into the incident.
"I write to ask you to immediately investigate this issue, establish the timeline of events for Mr Farage's return to the UK and establish whether Mr Farage was in breach of his quarantine. It is vital that lives are not put at risk by breaches of quarantine," he said in the letter.
As for Farage, he had maintained that he had done nothing wrong because he has tested negative for the virus since he returned home.
"To all those screaming and shouting about me going to the pub.... I have been back from the USA for 2 weeks and I have been tested — the result was negative. Sorry to disappoint you. Cheers," he said on Twitter.
According to the BBC, however, it's confirmed that under current regulations a negative test does not negate the need for the quarantine.
The Brussels Times
