A group of Brexiteers reportedly calling themselves the 'Grand Wizards' have caused outrage
A group of hard-core Brexiteers are reportedly calling themselves the 'Grand Wizards' as a nickname, and people are completely outraged.
On Sunday, a group of Brexit supporting MPs travelled to the prime minister's country residence, Chequers, amid rumours that she was desperately trying to persuade them to back her deal.
Those present included Iain Duncan Smith, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, David Davis, and Michael Gove among others.
According to the BBC's chief political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg, the group of *cough* predominantly middle-aged white men, have decided to give themselves a very catchy and 'right on' nickname.
These arch Brexiteers have decided to refer to themselves as the 'Grand Wizards'. The term was what the racist leaders of the Ku Klux Klan called themselves during the Reconstruction era between 1865 and 1869.
Yes, you couldn't make this stuff up.
In a tweet, she wrote:
2. The 'Grand Wizards' (the new name for the Chequer's daytrippers apparently) also had another meeting this morning, were they discussed again whether they could get on board to back PM's deal and there was no firm conclusion
Needless to say, many Twitter users were quick to point out the damaging connotations of the name, and to express their shock that the Brexiteers weren't aware of its racist meaning.
It's also pretty unbelievable that the group simply didn't know the connotations of the term. In 2016, Michael Gove sparked outcry after reportedly making a joke about Black Lives Matter and the Ku Klux Klan during a speech at a dinner for The Society of Legal Scholars in Oxford.
According to The Mirror, he said:
I feel rather like the grand wizard of the KKK giving an address to the AGM of Black Lives Matter.
Gove strongly denied the allegations and distanced himself from the claims.
In response to the 'Grand Wizard' claims, Labour MP Jess Phillips said:
This is unbelievable yet so very believable. The group think of this proves exactly why we criticised the fact they were all white men. I'm astonished but no longer am I surprised. These people are disgraceful.
In a follow-up tweet, Laura Kuenssberg said:
Just catching up on timeline, for avoidance of doubt, couple of insiders told me using the nickname informally, no intended connection to anything else.
HT The Poke