Brexit supporter tells James O'Brien he voted to leave EU over lack of 'white faces' at his local hospital
Caller insists he is not being racist
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Brexit supporter has told a radio show that he voted to leave the EU because he could only see “three or four white faces” during a visit to his local hospital.
The caller, who insisted he was not being racist, made the comments in conversation with journalist James O’Brien, who has become notorious for his clashes with Leave voters.
“I walk into Harrow Shopping Centre and I swear to God, I don’t know where I am,” the man from north-west London said. “I’ve got Polish, Romanians, Bulgarians sitting outside coffee houses doing sod all all day. I’ve got every nationality under the sun and it’s lost its identity.
“When I go into Northwick Park hospital… 120 people in there, I was lucky if I saw three or four white faces.”
O’Brien pointed out that the fact there were “brown faces” working for the NHS had nothing to do with the European Union.
“And I’m afraid if you are judging people according to their skin colour then you are engaging in racial prejudice,” the LBC radio host added.
The caller went on to say the UK had “lost its identity” and claimed that 22 out of 23 tills he had seen open at his local supermarket “had Indians or Pakistani people” working on them.
“This is why people have voted out of Europe,” he said.
O’Brien told listeners he agreed with the caller.
“I’m not arguing with you, they voted out of Europe because they think there’s too many brown people in their home towns,” he said.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments