Brexiteers condemned for using Orlando massacre to try and get people to vote Out in referendum
Leave.EU trying to make political gains out of worst terror attack America has seen since 9/11
AN ANTI-EU campaign group has been condemned for a ‘shameful and cowardly poster’ which uses the deadly nightclub shooting in Orlando to try and scare people into voting for Brexit.
In America’s deadliest ever shooting and the worst terror attack in the USA since 9/11 50 people were killed when attacker Omar Mateen opened fire early yesterday morning.
Mateen, wielding an AR-15 assault rifle and a handgun, struck at 2am.
He laughed and shouted as he sprayed the dance floor with bullets.
Mobile phone footage from the scene recorded 24 shots in nine seconds.
His attack also saw 53 people injured, with many of them fighting for their lives in hospital.
Fanatic Mateen called 911 to pledge allegiance to ISIS after opening fire at revellers, in an atrocity mirroring last November’s massacre at Paris’ Bataclan Theatre.
The attack has shocked the world but Leave.EU has decided to use it to try and get people to vote to leave the EU on June 23.
In a poster which was released on Twitter today the group said: “Islamist extremism is a real threat to our way of life. Act now before we see an Orlando-style atrocity here before too long.”
And in a message alongside the poster, the organisation tweeted: “The free movement of Kalashnikovs in Europe helps terrorists.
“Vote for greater security on June 23. Vote Leave.”
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Condemning the poster, shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn said: "This is a shameful and cowardly poster.
"It takes courage to stand by your principles and your friends when they are attacked, whether in Orlando, Paris or Brussels.
"Doing so makes us stronger and shows our resolve to stand up for our values and our way of life in the face of those who hold both in such murderous contempt."
And in a speech earlier Mr Benn paid tribute to the victims of the "murderous hate" at the Pulse nightclub massacre.
He said: "The best thing we can do as we comfort the bereaved is to stand up for our values and our way of life, and shoulder to shoulder with each other in solidarity, because being together makes us safer and stronger."
Turning to the referendum campaign, he insisted "our great country - our astonishing country - is one of the most successful in human history".
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan tweeted the Leave.EU official account: “This is really shameful” and Leicester South MP Jon Ashworth described it as “vile gutter stuff”.
Outraged members of the public also took to Twitter calling for Leave.EU to apologise.
Rachel Megan Barker tweeted: “How dare @LeaveEUofficial try to use attacks on LGBT people to scare folk into voting out of the EU, which has done so much for LGBT right [sic].”
Keith Farrow tweeted: “How to lose a referendum you are winning! Seriously bad judgement. What idiot authorised this?”
And Todd Forman said what a lot of people are thinking: “@LeaveEUOfficial deeply shameful of you to use this for political gain while people are fighting for their lives in hospital.”
In a statement Leave.EU said: “We have studied at length what the Prime Minister himself has said about Islamist attacks in this country and we are all in agreement.
“We need to tackle ISIS and its exploitation of our good, Muslim communities. We stand side by side with everyone wants to bring security to our world.”
The row came as a gaffe prone Remain campaign boss was in hot water again after praising an article that called Brexit supporter “idiots” as “brilliant”.
Last week Ryan Coetzee, the director of strategy of the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign, was accused of holding working families in contempt after attacking any crackdown on immigration.
On Monday morning the former Lib Dem strategist took to Twitter to praise a newspaper article that described Britain leaving the EU “the idiot option.”
He shared a link to the article with his 8,000 followers, adding “this is brilliant”.
The comments were leapt on by Leave supporters, and came just days after a snobbish Tory peer demanded voters do not “overrule” their “leaders” by backing Brexit.
Brexit backing Iain Duncan Smith told The Sun he was “appalled to see the PM’s EU campaign chief endorsing such sneering comments — referring to those that want to leave the EU as ‘idiots’.”
He added: “The British public are sick and tired of being threatened and insulted by such ‘self-important people’, and are perfectly able to decide for whether they wish to leave the EU or not.”
The Britain Stronger In Europe campaign also deleted a tweet promoting the latest Project Fear scaremongering from Brussels.
EU Council president Donald Tusk claimed that Brexit could lead to the end of “western political civilisation.”
The absurd claim was promoted by the Stronger In media team, before a hasty red-faced u-turn.
