Thames flotilla 'battle': Brexit fishermen board Sir Bob Geldof's Remain barge

Sir Bob's boat was boarded by two Essex fishermen
EPA

A group of anti-EU fishermen stormed Sir Bob Geldof's propaganda barge in extraordinary scenes on the Thames today.

The flotilla of fishermen had been led up the river by 'Admiral' Nigel Farage, in a publicity stunt urging people to leave the EU.

The dramatic scenes unfurled as Sir Bob spoke out about his stance on the EU. Speaking from the deck of his comandeered vessel, he hit out at Farage.

“It’s not like Farage is interested," he said. "If he was then he would have shown up for more than one out of the last 43 EU fishery meetings."

Sir Bob Geldof flicks a v-sign at fishermen 
Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

“If he was bothered by fishermen he wouldn’t have shown up in a pleasure cruiser and it’s part and parcel of this campaign."

He added: “It was such a great moment when he arrived and saw all the remain banners on the river.

“To see Farage scuttling back down the river is the measure of the man, he didn’t confront us, as they say he was up the creek without a paddle.”

Rachel Johnson, sister of Boris Johnson, was on Sir Bob's boat. She revealed they were boarded by two irate fishermen who remonstrated with them.

Fishing for Leave flotilla

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She told the Standard: “We were boarded by two fishermen, they were from Essex and they really tried to turn the whole boat around.

“They told us that we’d never been to Essex and we didn’t know what life was like there and we didn’t know we were born.

“It all ended peacefully and they even stopped spraying us with hoses after that.”

Jack Taylor/Getty Images

Miss Johnson revealed that the Remain boat had been organised by Sir Bob 36 hours before to try and disrupt the Brexit display.

The fishermen boarding the boat was just one incident in an extraordinary political confrontation on the river today.

Sir Bob's crew were doused with hoses, and Farage led a mini-armada down the Thames, to the astonishment of onlookers.

The flotilla, of up to 35 boats, had been organised by Scottish skippers as part of the Fishing for Leave campaign.

Around 50 to 60 boats had originally been expected to take part in the protest, passing the House of Commons while David Cameron was answering Prime Minister's Questions.

Tower Bridge had to be opened for 20 minutes, causing delays for motorists. The Brexit boats were forced to pass through "IN" banners draped across the bridge.

Opposition: Supporters on board Sir Bob Geldof's 'In' boat
Ollie Latham

Although there was a larger contingent of Brexit boats, Sir Bob Geldof had armed himself with a huge sound system to counter the flotilla.

The Boomtown rats star blasted out songs including Chicago's "If you leave me now" and Dobie Gray's "In With The In Crowd."​

Addressing Mr Farage over a PA system on his vessel, the Sarpedon, Geldof said: "You are no fisherman's friend."

He said that while Mr Farage was on the European Parliament fisheries committee he attended just one out of 43 meetings.

Nigel Farage also went on a boat as part of his Brexit push
Reuters

"You are a fraud, Nigel. Go back down the river because you are up one without a canoe or a paddle.

"Stop lying. This election is too important."

The singer's lone Remain boat was later joined by several rubber smaller vessels flying the "IN" flag.

As the two camps met, the Leave boats retaliated to Geldof's musical campaign by firing water from a hose at the IN vessel.

Both rival sets of boats were decked out in colourful flags and banners in an attempt to galvanise support in the closing days of the EU referendum campaign.

Although the protest and counter-protest clashed as the larger flotilla passed by Parliament there were no reports of actual violence beyond the water fighting.

Mr Farage branded the Geldof protest "just disgusting".

He said: "These are communities that have been devastated. These are communities that no-one has listened to for years.

"They are here today, they have taken - some of them - several days out of their working week to come and make their protest, to say Look, we want to take back control of our seas, we want to get jobs back in this industry'.

"To see multi-millionaires frankly mocking them is a pretty shameful sight."

City bosses had expressed concerns that the iconic London bridge was being used for such a “politically charged event”, but the Port of London Authority had given permission for 12 boats from the flotilla to continue to Westminster.

The fleet arrived outside Parliament at 12.30pm, ahead of the final Prime Minister’s Questions before votes are cast next Thursday.

The Brexit boats had departed from off Ramsgate at 3am and off Southend at 6am, passing through Gravesend en route to Tower Bridge.

A City of London Corporation source said there were concerns about the impact the event would cause on traffic in the Square Mile, Tower Hamlets and Southwark.

“We have a legal obligation to open the bridge for larger vessels," they said.

“However there is a high degree of concern at the large amount of traffic disruption this will cause and the use of Tower Bridge as part of such a politically charged event.”

A Ukip spokesman for Mr Farage said: “Of course it’s a political event — there’s a referendum on June 23 that matters passionately to millions of people across these islands.

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