Tom Harwood has pointed to a series of historical reports to back up Nigel Farage’s claims about swans being eaten in Britain.
Citing articles from three different sources, Tom noted that concerns over swans being killed and consumed have been raised for years.
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The GB News host pointed to a Time Magazine article on swans vanishing from waterways, the Evening Standard on a Queen’s swan being barbecued, and a Telegraph report of a police hunt for "swan killers".
He also pointed to a 2012 case where an immigrant was caught cooking swans, stressing that Mr Farage’s comments were not "conjured from thin air".
The GB News host pointed to a Time Magazine article on swans vanishing from waterways
|GB News
Tom's evidence comes as the Reform UK leader made his remarks during an LBC interview whilst being questioned about his support for Donald Trump's unsubstantiated allegations regarding Haitian immigrants consuming pets in Ohio.
When presenter Nick Ferrari challenged him about Donald Trump's claims, Mr Farage responded: "If I said to you that swans were being eaten in Royal Parks in this country, that carp were being taken out of ponds and eaten in this country by people who come from cultures that have a different...would you agree it happened, is happening here?"
Upon being pressed to identify who was responsible, Mr Farage suggested the culprits were "people who come from countries where it's quite acceptable to do so."
When Mr Ferrari specifically asked if he meant Eastern Europeans, Mr Farage replied: "So I believe."
The Royal Parks charity has firmly rejected these allegations, with a representative stating: "We've not had any incidents reported to us of people killing or eating swans in London's eight Royal Parks."
The organisation emphasised that its wildlife officers collaborate regularly with the Swan Sanctuary to safeguard swan populations throughout the parks.
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Speaking on GB News after delivering the evidence, Tom said: "This isn’t Nigel Farage conjuring something from the figment of his imagination.
"Now, interestingly, Nana, there are also some videos online. Yes, there are, but we couldn’t 100 per cent verify whether they were real or not.
"They could have been AI-generated. That’s the issue. Obviously, some of those reports weren’t necessarily in Royal Parks either, but it still shows he wasn’t fabricating the whole thing.
"There was at least one incident involving an immigrant, though we don’t know exactly where that was, some of the videos are fairly shocking.
In 2003, Metropolitan Police examined claims about migrants capturing and preparing swans for consumption, though officers ultimately found no supporting evidence and made no arrests
|PA
"People running geese and swans through flats, and one clip from a documentary we couldn’t fully trace, where the RSPCA said they’d found swan feathers in a bin and something being cooked inside a home. Really shocking stuff."
Historical records reveal previous investigations into similar allegations.
In 2003, Metropolitan Police examined claims about migrants capturing and preparing swans for consumption, though officers ultimately found no supporting evidence and made no arrests.
A decade later, Royal Parks documented the discovery of 13 injured swans on their properties in 2013. Rangers attributed most injuries to canine attacks rather than human interference.
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