A leading anti-Brexit campaigner has refused to back down for branding brash Brexit campaigning group Leave.EU "overtly anti-Jewish" – despite being threatened with legal action by its former co-chair.
Richard Tice, who now serves at the chairman of the Brexit Party, is thought to have instructed lawyers to begin proceedings against Femi Oluwole unless he removes a tweet in which he accused Mr Tice of founding the “overtly anti-Jewish” Leave.EU.
The row revolves around a tweet published by Leave.EU in October last year which portrays Hungarian-born billionaire investor George Soros as a ‘puppet master’ pulling strings attached to Tony Blair’s limbs.
The face of the People's Vote campaign.
— Leave.EU (@LeaveEUOfficial) October 12, 2018
Support us at https://t.co/iICfFb8qqg pic.twitter.com/eWEEg507NJ
Mr Oluwole, the co-founder of Our Future Our Choice (OFOC), tweeted: “How have we allowed the Brexit Party to be seen as a tolerant party when its Chairman, Richard Tice, founded an overtly anti-Jewish organisation?”
An OFOC source told the Evening Standard’s Londoner they consider the image of Mr Soros as puppeteer “as antisemitic a trope as you can get”.
It is believed Mr Oluwole was asked on Saturday to delete the tweet, pay Mr Tice’s legal costs and donate £10,000 to a charity of Mr Tice’s choice.
How have we allowed the Brexit Party to be seen as a tolerant party when its Chairman, Richard Tice, founded an overtly anti-Jewish organisation? https://t.co/mIhWZ4PWlr
— Femi (@Femi_Sorry) July 19, 2019
In response, the anti-Brexit campaigner has hired media lawyer David Price QC, telling the Evening Standard: “I will not stop calling out Leave.EU’s flagrant antisemitism.”
Leave.EU communications director Andy Wigmore told the JC: “The Labour Party, [Jeremy] Corbyn and others have a real problem with Jews and we have highlighted that constantly over the last two years.
“The left and remain activists have piled into us because of our campaign against antisemitism. We are pro-Israel and always have been.
“As for the tweet – it was about Soros controlling Remain and Blair, having put billions into campaigns against Brexit and globalism. Nothing to do with him being Jewish – Soros is anti-Israel.
“Remain activist are desperate to accuse Brexiteers of either being racists or Nazis."
Mr Wigmore added Mr Tice would "rightly take action against Femi".
