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    1. Life

    A group of famous Brexiteers have renamed themselves and it's a PR nightmare

    They’ll always remember to Google from now on.

    Jenny Proudfoot's avatar
    By Jenny Proudfoot
    Published 26 March 2019 In Features

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    They’ll always remember to Google from now on.

    In the midst of the current Brexit mess (one long sad game of Deal or No Deal), Prime Minister Theresa May has sought the help of a select group of Conservative Brexiteers.

    The group, including Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, met the PM at Chequers, her country house, to make a plan, and according to a source of Robert Pestons’s, Theresa informed them that she would quit if they voted for her deal.

    It wasn’t her reported promise that got the world talking this week however, instead it was the controversial and deeply inappropriate nickname that the selected Brexiteers reportedly gave themselves.

    According to BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg, the ‘new name for the Chequer’s day-trippers’ is ‘The Grand Wizards’, which for those who aren’t aware, was the name given to the heads of the Ku Klux Klan.

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    ‘I’m sorry, is this for real?,’ tweeted George Osborne, former Chancellor of the Exchequer. ‘Have the leaders of the hard Brexiteers just called themselves the same name as the leaders of the Ku Klux Klan?’

    ’This is unbelievable yet so very believable,’ tweeted Jess Phillips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley. ‘…I’m astonished but no longer am I surprised. These people are disgraceful.’

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    ‘We need a new name!’, Robert Hutton tweeted, making fun of the conversation between the club members. ‘Got it. The Grand Wizards!’ ‘Cool.’ ‘Shall we Google it, to check?’’Why bother?’

    Stig Abell agreed, tweeting: ‘So we are a bunch of senior white, right-wing men. Can anyone think of nay possible unfortunate connotations with the phrase “Grand Wizard” *silence and furrowed brows* “Nickname accepted!”’

    ‘Just catching up on timeline,’ Laura Kuenssberg posted, returning to Twitter after her quote had spread across social media. ‘For avoidance of doubt, couple of insiders told me using the nickname informally, no intended connection to anything else.'

    Jenny Proudfoot
    Jenny Proudfoot
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    Contributing Features Editor

    Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. After working at Marie Claire UK for seven years - rising from intern to Features Editor - she is now a freelance contributor to the News and Features section.

    In 2021, Jenny was named as a winner on the PPA's '30 under 30' list, and was also listed as a rising star in journalism.

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