Joe Biden accused of fresh 'anti-British' snub over 'Beast' limo flags

Joe Biden is accused of another ‘anti-British’ snub after ‘Beast’ limo flies the Irish flag… but there was no sign of the Union Jack on brief visit to Belfast

• Joe Biden faced criticism over partisan stance during his visit to island of Ireland 

Joe Biden has been accused of another ‘anti-British’ snub after the ‘Beast’ flew the Irish flag in Dublin – but not the Union Jack in Belfast.

Critics said the appearance of the US president’s limo was yet more evidence that he is not neutral in tensions over the island of Ireland.

The armoured vehicle featured the Stars and Stripes and the presidential standard on its bonnet on his brief visit to Northern Ireland on Wednesday.

However, after Mr Biden – who often boasts about his Irish heritage – moved on to the Republic the same day the country’s flag was proudly on display.

He has also come under fire for saying his rugby star distant relative ‘beat the hell out of the Black and Tans’. That was a British auxilliary police force in the 1920s, hated by the IRA – although the White House insists he was just muddling them up with the New Zealand All Blacks team. 

Mr Biden, who wraps up his three-day tour of Ireland tonight, also posed for a selfie with Gerry Adams and rebuked the UK for not cooperating more closely with Ireland on Brexit.  

Former DUP leader Baroness Foster told GB News that the Beast’s flags seemed to be another signal of his attitude to Britains.

‘I hope it’s not the case that he does not recognise Northern Ireland’s case within the United Kingdom which is of course is part of the Good Friday Agreement,’ she said. 

Lady Foster questioned why the president would be ‘thinking about the Black and Tans when he’s discussing the All Blacks’.

‘I think it goes to his mindset in relation to what happened in Ireland,’ she said.

‘He is not always balanced in matters relating to Northern Ireland. I acknowledge he was diplomatic in Belfast when he spoke but that was because he gave a scripted speech.’

She added: ‘Joe Biden’s record has not been even-handed and I think that must be acknowledged.’

The Beast featured the Stars and Stripes and the presidential standard on its bonnet on his brief visit to Northern Ireland on Wednesday

However, after Mr Biden – who often boasts about his Irish heritage – moved on to the Republic the country’s flag was proudly on display

In a speech to the Irish Parliament last night again heavy with references to his heritage, Mr Biden sought to soothe tensions over the ‘Black and Tans’ episode

In a speech to the Irish Parliament last night again heavy with references to his heritage, Mr Biden sought to soothe tensions over the ‘Black and Tans’ episode.

He became the fourth US president to address the Irish Parliament after Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and John F Kennedy.

‘People of Ireland, it’s so good to be back in Ireland,’ Mr Biden said, as he begun his speech to applause after making a remark in Irish which translates as: ‘I am home.’ 

‘I only wish I could stay longer,’ the US President added.

Cynics have suggested that Mr Biden’s many enthusiastic references to his Irish ancestry on his visit are linked to the looming US election campaign.

US officials have denied he is ‘anti-British’, but were forced to issue a correction after Mr Biden jibed about ‘the Black and Tans’ during a pub visit in County Louth.

Mr Biden said he was wearing a shamrock tie given to him by Irish rugby player Rob Kearney – a distant relative – saying approvingly that he ‘beat the hell out of the Black and Tans’.

The Blacks and Tans was an auxilliary police force sent to Ireland in the 1920s to counter IRA extremism – pilloried in Republican folk songs for their brutality.

The group was notably singled out in the pro-IRA song, ‘Come Out, Ye Black And Tans’, still popular with Irish rebel bands.

The White House website attempted to smooth over the situation by clarifying its official record to refer to the All Blacks – the New Zealand rugby team.

In a further effort to move past the row, Mr Biden said in his speech to the Irish Parliament: ‘I always have a little bit of Ireland close by, even when I’m in Washington

‘In the Oval Office I have the rugby ball signed by the Irish rugby team, – the ball the team played with when they beat the All Blacks in Dublin in 2021.’

The US President exaggerated the words ‘All Blacks’ and offered a fist pump as he attempted to laugh off his earlier gaffe.

Turning to the primary reason for his trip across the Atlantic – the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement –  Mr Biden said: ‘Peace is precious. It still needs its champions. It still needs to be nurtured.’

The Good Friday Agreement, the US President said, had a ‘significant positive impact across the Republic of Ireland as well’.

Reflecting on his discussions with the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, he spoke of ‘how Ireland and the United States can work together with the United Kingdom and the European Union to support the people of Northern Ireland’.

‘I think that the United Kingdom should be working closer with Ireland in this endeavour,’ the US President added, in a message to London.

‘Political violence must never be allowed again to take hold on this island.’

Among those listening was former Republican leader Adams, who posted a selfie of the pair together afterwards, captioned: ‘A President Biden Selfie.’

Mr Biden will conclude his visit to the island of Ireland by making a public address in the town where some of his ancestors hail from.

He will travel to the west of Ireland, where he will give a speech at a cathedral in Ballina, Co Mayo, on Friday evening.

Prior to that, he will tour the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock, also in Co Mayo.

Knock shrine is a Catholic pilgrimage site that has been visited by popes, most recently by Pope Francis in 2018.

Gerry Adams posted a selfie with Joe Biden last night after watching him address a joint session of the Irish parliament

The US President’s address was heavy with references to his proudly-held Irish heritage

The US President sought to soothe tensions over an earlier gaffe when he mistakenly referred to the ‘Black and Tans’ instead of the All Blacks rugby team of New Zealand

Mr Biden is then set to visit the North Mayo Heritage and Genealogical Centre’s family history research unit.

On Wednesday, the president visited Co Louth, to where some of his family have been traced, and the visit to Co Mayo tracks the other side of his family tree.

It is also believed Mr Biden will make a private visit to the Mayo Roscommon Hospice in Castlebar that is dedicated to his son Beau who died of brain cancer in 2015.

The visit will conclude in the town of Ballina where Mr Biden will make a speech at St Muredach’s Cathedral.

Mr Biden’s great-great-great grandfather Edward Blewitt sold 27,000 bricks to the cathedral in 1827, which helped buy tickets for himself and his family to sail to America decades later in 1851.

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