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Boris Johnson accused of spreading 'fake news' after using fish as prop to rail against EU regulations

Johnson held the fish aloft at a Conservative Party rally on Wednesday.

BORIS JOHNSON HAS been accused of spreading “fake news” by a European Commissioner after brandishing a kipper at a campaign event to rail against the bloc’s bureaucracy.

The frontrunner in the race to become Britain’s next prime minister used a kipper to emphasise why his country should leave the European Union as soon as possible.

Addressing Conservative party members at a London rally yesterday, Johnson said the fish came from “a kipper smoker in the Isle of Man who is utterly furious”.

“Because after decades of sending kippers like this through the post, he has had his costs massively increased by Brussels bureaucrats, who have insisted that each kipper must be accompanied by this: a plastic ice pillow,” he said, holding that up too.

But Anca Paduraru, the EU Commission’s spokeswoman for food safety and health, rejected the claim at a briefing in Brussels on Thursday.

Although producers have a duty to meet food safety requirements, she said that the sale of products from food businesses to the final consumer is not covered by the EU.

“There are strict rules when it comes to fresh fish but these kinds of rules don’t apply to processed fishery products. I’m talking about the temperature and the exact case that he was explaining,” she said.

Paduraru said that the case described by Johnson falls outside the scope of EU legislation and was an issue for the UK.

CORRECTION Britain Conservatives Conservative party leadership candidate Boris Johnson holds up a bagged smoked fish during a speech yesterday Frank Augstein / PA Images Frank Augstein / PA Images / PA Images

Isle of Man law

The Isle of Man is also not a member of the EU, but as a self-governing British Crown Dependency, it does have access to the customs union.

As a result, it must apply certain EU regulations, while it also keeps step with laws in Britain, its largest trading market.

A spokeswoman for the Isle of Man government told AFP that the rules on keeping kippers at the right temperature date back to 2007 legislation passed there.

It was introduced a few months after new EU regulation on the topic.

“The Isle of Man law is closely based on UK legislation and relevant EU food safety regulations,” the spokeswoman said.

“Where our goods are exported they are required to comply with standards of the destination market.”

Britain’s Food Standards Agency said that in the UK, all food delivered to customers that needs refrigeration “must be kept cool while they are being transported”.

“This may need to be packed in an insulated box with a coolant gel or in a cool bag,” it said.

A kipper producer on the Isle of Man, who said they did not provide the fish used by Johnson, confirmed they had received new advice on how to store the fish.

But an official indicated this was probably the result of efforts to reinforce the current rules, as the country prepares for any disruption from Brexit.

Kipper Twitter Twitter

EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis accused Johnson of “fake news” following the stunt.

“Boris, the Isle of Man is not bound to the #EU ‘pointless and damaging’ *red tape* in #foodsafety that we are proud of because it protects consumers,” he tweeted.

“You omitted to say that the Isle of Man is not in the EU. This packaging — #uk competence. Yet another smoke. #fakenews”.

With reporting from - © AFP 2019

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    Mute Shane
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    Jul 18th 2019, 9:50 PM

    In the fictional Yes Minister, Hacker stood up to Europe by standing up for sausages free of EU interference… now another (sadly real) PM candidate uses a kipper… Fact stranger than fiction!
    How incredible that British politics is now mimicking an 80s sitcom… If it weren’t so serious, you would laugh..,,

    307
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    Mute eoin dunning
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:05 PM

    @Shane: I was just about to reference that. It’s so bizarre. He is actually taking the piss and laughing at us all

    104
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    Mute Tony Gordon
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:28 PM

    @Shane: I still can’t understand why they don’t bring back Spitting Image, the characters and the material they would have over the past few years would have been hilarious

    170
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    Mute Michael Maher
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    Jul 18th 2019, 11:37 PM

    @Tony Gordon: Ireland will be on its knees begging Britain and the USA Boris and President Trump for help after brexit when the EU tells us we can not borrow any more money,

    7
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    Mute Joakim Makela
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    Jul 19th 2019, 1:24 AM

    @Michael Maher: Why would the EU tell us that…?

    51
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    Mute Alan McDonald
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    Jul 19th 2019, 3:13 AM

    @Michael Maher: Moronic comment.

    55
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    Mute Michael Maher
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    Jul 19th 2019, 11:09 AM

    @Joakim Makela: Who will pay it back this country is broke and living on a big lie.

    1
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    Mute Michael Maher
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    Jul 19th 2019, 11:10 AM

    @Alan McDonald: Have a good look in the mirror !

    3
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    Mute Brian Farrell
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    Jul 18th 2019, 9:44 PM

    It’s surprising he didn’t strap the poor fish to the side of a bus.

    179
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    Mute Symbolism
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    Jul 18th 2019, 9:42 PM

    Hope he enjoys his chlorinated chicken.

    206
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    Mute Alan Biddulph
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:10 PM

    @Symbolism: They might cash in and do a range of chlorinated feasts, Why have plain bleached chicken when you can have pine fresh or lemon scented chlorine chicken nuggets!

    65
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    Mute Val Doyle
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    Jul 18th 2019, 11:18 PM

    Hake news

    83
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    Mute Richard Burke
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:03 PM

    Does he know any other kind of news? Why was he fired from his job in The Times? For writing Fake News. So you expect him to change now!!##!

    112
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    Mute Cal Mooney
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    Jul 18th 2019, 9:43 PM

    So the guy in the Isle of Wight (let’s call him Borris for the sake of argument), thinks that after he leaves the EU, will be able to bypass EU regulations, as they are not in the EU. The english are stupid beyond compare, except for maybe Trump fanatics, who don’t see the irony of saying emigrants are not welcome as they don’t help make America great.

    122
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    Mute Squiddley Diddley
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    Jul 18th 2019, 9:48 PM

    @Cal Mooney: Isle of Man

    54
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    Mute Cal Mooney
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    Jul 18th 2019, 9:52 PM

    @Squiddley Diddley: That makes all the difference :D but I do stand corrected.

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    Mute Gerard Smith
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    Jul 18th 2019, 11:19 PM

    @Cal Mooney: it said on BBC that smoked fish wasnt covered under EU rules and it was the UK themselves introduced the rule. I dont think our politicians are anything but a small step above incompetent but how any British person can even listen to him let alone vote for him is plain scary.

    53
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    Mute Only here for the comments
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    Jul 19th 2019, 12:04 AM

    @Cal Mooney: it actually does make all the difference, seeing as Isle of Man is not in EU, is a British crown dependency, whereas the isle of wight is a county in England.

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Jul 19th 2019, 1:19 AM

    @Only here for the comments: facts don’t mean much to Cal.

    10
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    Mute Thewestisbest
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    Jul 19th 2019, 8:37 AM

    @Gerard Smith: When it comes to food safety we have good politicians. It’s just housing, health, education and the provision of all the other public services they struggle with.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jul 20th 2019, 11:46 PM

    @Only here for the comments: Indeed, but I agree with Cal that Boris J is only playing to the gallery now. He’s leading people to believe that if they will only support his political party, the UK is going to become a sort of magical smuggler’s free-for-all.

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    Mute aidan mccormack
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    Jul 19th 2019, 1:23 AM

    What are you supposed to do with this guy. He makes up stories and yet he gets more people to like him, where are his supporters coming from, because it’s not just the lower class with low income who hope because he’s different something might change for them. Boris has support from highly educated people in the uk and for the life of me I cant understand why. Can anybody tell me?, because honestly I thought this was a joke to start out with but he’s definitely gonna be the next PM of the uk. It’s not funny anymore

    56
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    Mute wattsed56
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    Jul 19th 2019, 1:58 AM

    @aidan mccormack: Many people believe in him. Possibly because he’s never used the term *Lower Class*, unlike you of possibly *High Class*

    3
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    Mute Diarmuid Hunt
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    Jul 19th 2019, 9:11 AM

    @wattsed56: Social strata exist whether you mention them or not.

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    Mute Graham Wilson
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:01 PM

    More lies from the Right-Wingers, surprise, surprise!

    61
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    Mute WoodlandBard
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    Jul 18th 2019, 9:58 PM

    Never mind the kipper but Isle Of Man not member of the EU? Looks like they already have a Brexit plan that has worked for them for years. Any chance of them letting Westminster know how it is done?

    44
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    Mute Felicity Rawson
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:02 PM

    @WoodlandBard: the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are outside of the EU. Funnily enough, they’re also tax havens

    69
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    Mute Gerard Fogarty
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:20 PM

    Straight out of yes minister – British sausage

    45
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    Mute TamuMassif2019
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    Jul 18th 2019, 11:41 PM

    @Gerard Fogarty: Darling that’s why my fingers smell of fish, it was an UKipper…

    32
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    Mute Nick Caffrey
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    Jul 19th 2019, 8:19 AM

    @TamuMassif2019: UKipper. Love it!

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    Mute TamuMassif2019
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    Jul 21st 2019, 3:00 AM

    @Nick Caffrey: A cod with a kipper???

    1
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    Mute Bridget O'Hanlon
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:46 PM

    You’d get more sense from the kipper

    40
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    Mute Chemical Brothers
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:37 PM

    Eh does that mean the Isle of Mann already has a working backstop?

    31
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    Mute Ann Basquille Smith
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    Jul 19th 2019, 12:09 AM

    Surely that should have been a red herring.

    26
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    Mute John Mc Donagh
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:50 PM

    A mop-headed man with a kipper
    Thought he’d rather get holding a stripper
    Than a fish for a pan
    From the island of Mann
    Because then he might make one more nipper

    36
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    Mute Michael Kavanagh
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    Jul 18th 2019, 11:07 PM

    Is Monty Python back?

    22
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    Mute Keith O'Reilly
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:21 PM

    It’s just what his type does!

    19
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    Mute wattsed56
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    Jul 18th 2019, 9:46 PM

    Does anyone really care. Juncker has been kippered that often he’s morphed into a pickled onion.

    15
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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:02 PM

    @wattsed56: …so says the person who’s a UKIPper

    57
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    Mute Peter Shannon
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    Jul 18th 2019, 10:15 PM

    @Diaspora’d: can we officially use ukipped as a adjective now?

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    Mute wattsed56
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    Jul 19th 2019, 1:56 AM

    @Diaspora’d: Nope, Brexit Party through and through.

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    Mute John R
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    Jul 19th 2019, 8:33 AM

    @wattsed56: ah. Former UKIPer. Thank you.

    3
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    Mute Aine O Connor
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    Jul 19th 2019, 6:57 AM

    Kipper Johnson , very apt, I read somewhere that Kippers are two faced and have no guts , just like Johnson.

    14
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    Mute Dave Thomas
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    Jul 19th 2019, 12:07 AM

    How to make it to the top…. Lie until enough idiots believe you.

    32
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    Mute Alan McArdle
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    Jul 19th 2019, 12:22 AM

    @Dave Thomas: or get the idiots to first believe you and then lie. What a goon he is but he and his supporters don’t care that the rest of us know.

    18
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