'Hypocrite' Lydon blames migrants for division in UK

John Lydon has lashed out at the apparent effects of immigration in the UK during a fiery interview in which he doubled down on his support for Brexit.

- ROISIN O'CONNOR

The former Sex Pistol, who is himself the son of immigrants, decried Britain's seaside towns as "run down" and full of “prospective immigrants”, which he claimed has fueled “animosity in communities”.

Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, rose to fame with the punk band in the mid-Seventies with songs such as “God Save the Queen” and “Anarchy in the UK”. In recent years he has adopted right-wing political stances including throwing his weight behind Brexit, Donald Trump and Nigel Farage.

But his remarks sparked a backlash from migrant charities who branded him “an old punk rocker... shamefully choosing to demonise marginalised communities”.

Speaking to LBC host Andrew Marr on Thursday evening, Lydon said that much of his forthcoming tour is taking place in seaside towns, which he claimed indicate how “run down” Britain has become.

“They used to be fantastic places when I was a kid,” the 68-yearold told Marr. “Mum and dad would drag us off for what felt like hours in a traffic jam, but it was absolutely great, it was workingclass people throwing sand at each other… and the environment was economically thriving, I suppose. It was vibrant.”

Now, Lydon claimed, those towns are “full” of “prospective immigrants… which are really illegals [who are] not being cared for properly, but they shouldn’t have been accepted in such vast numbers”.