An influential businessman and property owner has sparked outrage after an inappropriate post about asylum seekers crossing the English Channel that has sparked hurt and anguish in North Devon.
Robert Braddick is the owner of a large empire in Westward Ho! including bars and restaurants, amusement arcades, holiday park and Seafield House, referred to by locals as the Haunted House.
On his Facebook page he recently posted a photograph of a large number of people inside a small inflatable boat at sea wearing life jackets and below it a screenshot of actor Roy Scheider playing Chief Brody in the film Jaws with the caption, ‘we’re gonna need a bigger shark’.
Angry local residents have criticised the post and the hateful comments it sparked, with one now organising a peaceful vigil later today, December 30, to stand in solidarity for all diverse members living within the local community.
Among those who commented, one woman stated Brits need to ‘toughen up and rise to the challenge, to which Robert responded: “Bloody right. It is a bloody island and not making any more land on it.” The post has since been deleted.
Robert told DevonLive the post was in response to a new story that Home Office figures confirmed at least 850 people landed in small boats on Christmas Day and Boxing Day in the UK.
He said: “All I can say is after reading the amount of people who came ashore over Christmas and Boxing Day I found this a little bit funny. 850 in two days. And I’m a big fan of Jaws.”
When asked why he had deleted the post, he said: “I deleted it because I was asked to. There was nothing sinister behind it. When I was asked to take it down by a few people, I removed it.”
The peaceful vigil will take place on the green at Westward Ho! seafront at 6pm today.
Organiser Kaye Corfe, a former Bideford town councillor, said: “When I asked Rob online if he had seen the ahorrent comments that had been made about him since he removed the post, he replied, ‘no sorry, I have moved on’. There has been no accountability or responsibility, and the immense hurt, anguish and fear that has been caused by the comments has not moved on.
“Rob does a lot for the community and has good businesses and brings a lot of employment to Westward Ho! but with that comes responsibility. When you are in the public eye there needs to be a level of accountability and a need to think what you are saying.
“The inappropriate post has caused so much hurt. I have been messaged by non-white British women who have said they don’t want to go out on New Year’s Eve because of the reaction to it.
“I understand the need for freedom of speech but the post cited racism and hate speech. People can have their opinions about asylum seekers but this is not about immigration but hateful comments that have been incited.
“It has prompted me to organise a very quick call for action peaceful vigil to stand there and show it is not how a big part of the community think and feel.”