A councillor says he will ‘never apologise’ for wearing a poppy after he received a barrage of online hate for wearing the symbolic red flower during a TV appearance earlier this week.
Tom Jones, the Conservative councillor for North Yorkshire Scotton and Lower Wensleydale, wore the symbolic red flower on ITV during an interview about the appointment of the new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
He was later criticised and branded a “Poppy t***”. While another chimed in: “Virtue signalling of the Highest Order.”
Defending his decision, Mr Jones told Philip Davies and Esther McVey on GB News today (SAT): “I’m really lucky in that I represent a large part of Catterick Garrison, and a lot of veterans and a lot of current service people as well. And I just wanted to show a mark of respect for their service. And I didn’t understand why wearing a poppy in late October was going to be quite so controversial, to be quite honest with you.
“I think it’s quite sad actually. Because, you know, as far as I’m concerned, our country has a debt of service to our servicemen, and we should always be striving to pay that debt down. And I think the poppy is a mark of respect for people who sacrificed so much to defend Britain’s history and Britain’s tradition and Britain’s values. And,and I’m just kind of slightly disappointed that it would be kind of soiled in this way. It feels like it’s cheapening it as a symbol and it cheapens what it represents somehow.
“If I get the chance again, I would absolutely wear it. I do think that actually we need to take more time throughout the whole course of the year to remember our servicemen and women and the sacrifice they made. It shouldn’t be a matter of 11 days in November, it should be year round.
