Tonight with Andrew Marr 6pm - 7pm
James O'Brien's Caller Reminds Brexiteers Why Good Friday Agreement Is So Vital
11 December 2018, 13:47
This emotional Irish caller railed at the Brexiteers who are treating the Good Friday Agreement with contempt.
Tory MP Priti Patel is the latest Leave campaigner to comment on Ireland, stating that the UK government could use the threat of food shortages in Ireland as a result of no deal to win concessions on the Irish backstop.
But Martin phoned James O'Brien from Mayo in Ireland to remind people just how important the Good Friday Agreement is in stopping The Troubles.
He said: "It was an absolutely horrendous time.
"But in spite of how horrific it was, how long it went on for, it seems to have gone over the heads of the Leavers.
"They said they knew exactly what they were voting for. I simply do not believe them. How many of them thought, when they were going to the polls, of the catastrophic effect this would have on Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement?
"The names of all the places where these terrible deeds happened, they echo in the memory and will go on doing so.
"Bloody Friday, Bloody Sunday, McGurk's Bar, Enniskillen, Gracefield, Omagh, Loughinisland - the list goes on.
"And across the water, you had the London Docklands, Birmingham bombings, the tavern, the Mulberry Bush, Warrington. I will never forget those two little boys who lost their life, Timmy Parry and Jonathan Ball. God bless them.
"Iain Duncan Smith, David Davis, Owen Paterson, Priti Patel - these people, they are criminally irresponsible when they talk about the backstop.
"It's a fantasy land, there is no upside to Brexit. It's a horrible concoction of things that finally came together."
Listeners were left emotional by Martin's call.
Powerful call from Martin in Mayo to @mrjamesob, paying tribute to the innocent victims during the Troubles, and the pure arrogance from Iain Duncan Smith, Priti Patel & their ilk to refer to the Northern Irish backstop/border issue as a 'red herring'...how dare they! @LBC
— Vivid Ricky (@VividRicky) December 11, 2018
@mrjamesob @LBC In tears listening to the gentleman from Ireland now ... talking about the sheer awfulness of the times prior to the Good Friday Agreement. God bless you sir. #peoplesvote
— Tracy Ballarini (@knittinghappy) December 11, 2018