'I favour pest control': DUP MP who called grey squirrels 'the Hamas of the squirrel world' explains bizarre comparison

29 November 2023, 22:03

Stella Creasy compares mosquitos to Hezbollah

By Will Taylor

The DUP MP who compared grey squirrels to terrorists Hamas terrorists has said he is in "favour of pest control" as he explained his curious comparison on LBC.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Jim Shannon was mocked online after he drew comparisons between the nut-loving rodents and the rampaging militants in the Middle East.

He told his colleagues about efforts to protect red squirrels at Mount Stewart in Northern Ireland, describing how a National Trust ranger team was in contact "with local landowners to monitor red squirrels and eradicate any greys that venture in".

He added: "Indeed, the issue is the very presence of grey squirrels – grey squirrels are the Hamas of the squirrel world."

And appearing on LBC's Cross Question with Iain Dale on Wednesday, he refused to back down on his bizarre linking of the animal with a proscribed terror group.

Read more: Omid Scobie doubles down on race row and insists he didn't name royals at centre of racism claims

"I'm a great believer in pest control. The fact of the matter is the very presence of grey squirrels means the death of the red squirrels. I believe in the iconic red squirrel."

He explained: "The grey squirrel carries a pox [which] kills all the red squirrels."

Labour MP Stella Creasy joked there is "no two-squirrel state solution" as Mr Shannon told her: "I'm very much in favour of the Labour reds - but not the greys."

His original comments provoked disbelief and mockery online.

"That's enough internet for me tonight...." said one X user after watching the clip.

Another said: "I really did not have the DUP down to emerge as the champion of our native Irish Red Squirrels against the colonialist foreign grey squirrel invaders."

And a third suggested: "I think this is how memes are born. Egg & Onion sandwiches are the Hamas of the Sandwich world."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen to put out seven 'lost' albums of unreleased songs

Val Kilmer & Tom Cruise in Top Gun

Tom Cruise breaks silence on 'dear friend' Val Kilmer's death with emotional tribute to Top Gun co-star

Virginia Giuffre

Woman driving Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre during crash that left her with 'four days to live' breaks silence

Prescot, Merseyside

Girl, 13, dies in horror Merseyside house fire as five children escape unharmed

File photo of a Harris hawk

Dive-bombing hawk that terrorised village with string of blood-soaked attacks finally caught by local hero

Exclusive
'Donald Trump has made Putin comfortable,' Mikhail Khodorkovsky has warned

'Trump has made Putin comfortable' despite massive Ukraine war losses, exiled former oligarch tells LBC

New images show the moment the two ships collided.

New images show moment of North Sea crash as investigation reveals neither ship had a 'dedicated lookout'

Washington, DC, USA. 15 Apr 2017. A balloon caricature of President Donald Trump appears at the Tax March protest near the U.S. Capitol.

Buy US chlorinated chicken in return for lower tariffs, Trump tells Britain

From jeans to jet fuel and firearms to whiskey: Britain unveils lengthy list of US items facing tariffs

From jeans to jet fuel and firearms to whisky: Britain unveils lengthy list of US items facing tariffs

Forensic investigators at Milton Keynes train station after a man was shot dead by armed police officers.

Knifeman shot dead by police in Milton Keynes after moving 'at speed' towards officers named for first time

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour.

British couple found dead in south of France home being ‘treated as murder-suicide’

Kerri Pegg, former governor of HMP Kirkham,

Prison governor denies relationship with drug boss 'Jesse Pinkman' after flip flops carrying his DNA found in her flat

Julie Goodyear as Bet Lynch. Her husband has now deleted a recent photograph of the actress which he shared in honour of her 83rd birthday on Wednesday

Julie Goodyear's husband removes rare photo of Coronation Street star after dementia diagnosis amid blacklash

The vehicle was later extinguished after the driver, covered in flames, emerged from the vehicle.

Amsterdam Dam Square car explosion sees driver engulfed in flames - just days after mass stabbing

Kanye West confirms that him and Bianca Censori have split.

Kanye West confirms split from wife Bianca Censori as rapper claims she 'tried to have me committed'

d

Pictured: US tourist arrested for sailing to remote island and leaving a can of Coke for world's most isolated tribe