Just when you thought you'd seen it all on Brexit a Tory MP goes ahead and compares it to the Rwandan genocide. Yes, really.
Richard Graham, the MP for Gloucester, tweeted a message about both sides of the Brexit debate coming together despite their differences.
Sure, that's a nice and positive message to spread in such divisive times but comparing it to the 1994 atrocity where an estimated 500,000 to one million people were killed probably isn't the best way to go about it.
In the tweet which has since been deleted, 60-year-old Graham wrote:
25 years ago in Rwanda the Hutu on the right killed all 4 children of the Tutsi on the left, throwing two of them into a river.
Last week they embraced and reconciled. If they can come together then so can every Remainer & Leaver, Deal & No Deal advocate.
#letskeepitinperspective
Graham was referencing a story published by The Times on Saturday where a Tutsi survivor managed to reconcile with a Hutu villager that had killed his children.
The Hutu and Tutsi were the two opposing sides in the Rwandan genocide, where an estimated 70 per cent of the Tutsi population was wiped out.
Although he swiftly removed the tweet he didn't bank on it being screengrabbed by multiple Twitter users who were absolutely gobsmacked at what they saw.
before he deleted it, this was a genuine tweet by a British MP. we've collectively lost our minds https://t.co/1bVKST8kNy— Matthew Champion (@Matthew Champion) 1553186962
The Brexit infighting is not as bad as the Rwandan genocide, a Tory MP helpfully points out 🙄 (h/t @RKWinvisibleman) https://t.co/WLIrMDxpHt— Henry Mance (@Henry Mance) 1553182909
I see he’s deleted it, but we’re at the “at least it’s not the Rwandan genocide” stage of Brexit https://t.co/mfKUL1LUEe— The Poisonous Euros Atmosphere Fan (@The Poisonous Euros Atmosphere Fan) 1553187081
@RichardGrahamUK So this is your attempt at deflection from your tweet yesterday where you compared Rwandan genocid… https://t.co/ltTA2OFJkY— Brexit Air Cargo Ltd (@Brexit Air Cargo Ltd) 1553245848
Brexit - not as bad as WWII or the Rwandan genocide. Put that on the side of a bus. https://t.co/K2RCwYckJq— Colette Browne (@Colette Browne) 1553183162
@matthewchampion oh…. my god— Miriam Elder (@Miriam Elder) 1553186978
@matthewchampion It is not healthy to be this angry, I have work to do.— Musa Okwonga (@Musa Okwonga) 1553245983
Equally embarrassing is that Graham managed to confuse the two men. In his tweet, he says 'the Hutu on the right' whereas The Times stated that the Hutu who committed the murders is on the left of the photograph.
Once again it's great that Graham is trying to build the bridges over the gaps that Brexit has created but thankfully we are not at the stage of mass murder just yet.
Indy100 has contacted Mr Graham for comment.
HT Mirror