Well, he’s guilty then, isn’t he. Got him bang to rights. You know, Nigel Farage. The one and the same UKIP leader photographed outside a pub with the young man filmed in the Paris Metro as a bunch of Chelsea thugs shoved a black man back onto the platform.
Except Nigel Farage is guilty of nothing bar having his photograph taken with an admirer. That’s it. There is no link other than time and place between Farage and the Chelsea fan we now know as Josh Parsons, 21, of Surrey.
The two have become one because Parsons posted a picture of the pair on his Instagram account around four months ago with the caption: “UKIP BOYS! What a geezer”
That’s it for both parties.
There is also no evidence to suggest Parsons was involved in the altercation with the black man or made racist comments. No charges have been laid or tested in a court of law. The presumption of innocence will apply if and when that happens just as it does now.
So why is Farage even connected in the first place? It’s an easy ‘gotcha’ moment for media outlets, that’s why.
Farage is a human lightning rod for much of what passes for media criticism of UKIP and its policies. He accepts that as part of the job he took on when he entered public life.
Parsons has no such profile. He may well have questions to answer, but until that time, it might be best if the MSM took a collective cold shower and let the French police do their work.
Procedural fairness is certainly something that Parson’s own employer Miranda Khadr counsels.
Speaking outside her Mayfair office, Miranda Khadr defended her employee when she told the Daily Telegraph: “He is very scared at the moment and he called me to say he is not coming in today.
“He is not that type of person at all (to have taken part in racist chants), he works with me and I’m not English.
“He is a 21-year-old little boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
While we’re at it, keep this in mind.
UKIP spokesman Gawain Towler has been unequivocal in his condemnation of the Paris train incident and dismisses any causal link determined by the brief association between Parsons and Farage.
“This photograph was taken outside a London pub. Mr Farage is photographed with and by dozens of people, both by supporters and opponents on a daily basis.
“UKIP and Mr Farage find the behaviour of the suspected Chelsea fans on the Paris Metro to be disgraceful, and shames both the country and Chelsea Football Club.
“We are delighted that the identities of these people are being revealed, and that they will face the full force of the law.”
Which is only fair. A shame that might be too much to ask of those so quick to condemn UKIP for every societal fault they can muster. Real and imagined.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.