Steve Bray, the anti-Brexit protester known for his large hat, excellent placard placement and booming voice, has been winding Mark Francois up again.
Francois, who has made a name for himself in recent months by physically ripping up Theresa May's withdrawal agreement, staring intensely at Will Self, and saying things like "perfidious Albion", made a raft of TV appearances this morning.
The ERG deputy chairman was interviewed by Sky News and the BBC to get a sense of the group's reaction to news that Boris Johnson may agree on a deal with the European Union.
Sadly for Mark, he struggled to get many of his points across, thanks to a particularly persistent onslaught of "stop Brexit" shouts.
At several points an irate Francois stopped to complain about the protester, saying tersely:
If we leave it will be delightful that this idiot will shut up.
The BBC interviewer responded:
He is exercising his democratic right, I appreciate it makes it very difficult to do an interview and we do want to hear from you as well.
After further shouts of "Boris Johnson is a cheat and a liar" and a more targeted "good morning, Mr Francois", the Brexiteer tried to brush Bray's antics off by saying: "He lost the referendum, he’s never got over it."
Someone kindly compiled a greatest hits of the morning's shouts.
In case you missed it, I did a "best of" this mornings heckles when Mark Francois was on BBC news talking about Bre… https://t.co/uraZo0JHIo— Peter Garbacz (@Peter Garbacz) 1571222793
One stand-out set of words Francois did manage to convey amid the noise was this:
We want to live in a free country, that elects its own government, and makes its own laws, and then lives under those laws in peace.
To which Sky News' Adam Boulton told him: "We already are."
People shared their amusement on Twitter.
@SoozUK I just love the way the guy waits for Mark Francois to start talking before he starts shouting! Priceless. 😂😂😂— Andrew Quinn (@Andrew Quinn) 1571227331
@SoozUK "Mark Francois, based on your knowledge..." - well, this can't end well.— Mike Flint from the UK (@Mike Flint from the UK) 1571222647
While the real Mark Francois doesn't have Twitter, a parody account of the Tory MP was all too happy to step in.
Watch this guys! Filth columnist Steve Bray aka @snb19692 tries to derail my interview by shouting gibberish, but i… https://t.co/jGMj6vJqBH— THE SECRET TORY (@THE SECRET TORY) 1571226947
Bray had this response...
Despite the morning's excitement, some of us were still reeling from Francois' impressive Boris Johnson impression.
Dear Twitter friends, Light a candle tonight for ickle-itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-toy soldier Mark François..... Or j… https://t.co/wEei1AYtmt— Brexitshambles (@Brexitshambles) 1571177165