Brexiteer Darren Grimes accidentally tweets support for free movement and Schengen agreement

Darren Grimes behind Michael Gove during the Vote Leave campaign. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA. - Credit: PA Archive/PA Images

A Brexiteer appears to have accidentally come out in support of freedom of movement on the social media network Twitter.

https://twitter.com/darrengrimes_/status/1110181500161609729

Darren Grimes, the pro-Brexit youth activist who was fined for taking an illegal donation from the Vote Leave campaign, sparked widespread ridicule with his latest outburst.

In an attempt to take a pop at the Irish border issue, Grimes sent out a message that read: ‘Just crossed the border from Italy into Switzerland, not a bother, it’s almost like it doesn’t have to be. Somehow. It’s almost like it’s not beyond the wit of man.’

But as Twitter users quickly pointed out to the Brexiteer, he was benefiting from Europe’s open border Schengen Area which allows people to travel freely across countries without checks.

The response was so significant to Grimes’ tweet that ‘Schengen’ trended on the website.

Jon Worth tweeted: ‘They’re both in Schengen you dim witted imbecile. If you had been driving a truck it’d have been different.’

James Felton said: ‘3 weeks from Brexit and these bellends still haven’t googled Schengen.’

Paul Bernal asked: ‘The real question with Darren Grimes is whether he’s ignorant about Schengen or he’s being deliberately misleading? It’s the classical fool or rogue question.’

Jon Elledge said: ‘What’s a simple working class lad from county durham who never had two pennies to rub together even doing in a fancy metropolitan elite place like Switzerland, that’s what I want to know.’

The pro-Brexit campaigner recently tried to turn his argument with Remainers into a class issue.

He said: ‘I don’t have your education. I didn’t have your upbringing. My summers weren’t spent in Europe. We were more concerned with how to put food on the table each week. I get that it kills you that people want to listen to someone as ‘uneducated’ as me.’

A number of social media users were quick to point out that the United Kingdom remains in Europe.

Grimes is not the first Brexiteer to look foolish on the matter.

Julia Hartley-Brewer also tweeted recently: ‘Just approaching the border between France and Switzerland…’ before adding: ‘…and now I’m in Switzerland. I reckon that took all of 20 seconds. #justsaying’.