Anti-Brexit billboard appears in Newport from campaign group Led By Donkeys

Situated near the junction of Chepstow Road and Aberthaw Road in the city, the billboard depicts a quote from Patrick Minford, Professor of Applied Economics at Cardiff University and a leading voice in the group Economists for Brexit.

Mr Minford is quoted as saying: “You are going to have to run it down (the car industry) …in the same way we ran down the coal and steel industries. These things happen.”

Led By Donkeys targeted this billboard in Newport

The quote is depicted in the form of a tweet, an idea that the campaign group has said they have named “a tweet you can’t delete”.

The group behind the billboard, which is just one of a series of instalments put up around the country, are known as Led By Donkeys and operate primarily through Twitter.

The name is a reference to the phrase ‘lions led by donkeys’, which was used to describe the British troops during the First World War.

The group has put up billboards featuring quotes from many other notable politicians such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and Prime Minister Theresa May. The installations are paid for through crowdfunding.

Led By Donkeys have tasked themselves with “saving for posterity the pure and incontrovertible incompetence of Britain’s leaders”. They are looking to hit back at what they believe is a culture of U-turns, hypocrisy and career politics.

A spokesperson for the group said: “One of us mentioned that famous tweet by David Cameron before the 2015 election: ‘Britain faces a simple and inescapable choice. Strong and stable Government with me, or chaos with Ed Miliband.’

“But what if he deletes it?

“Across the road was a billboard. Someone said, “let's turn that tweet into a tweet you can’t delete and put it up there”.”

Describing themselves as “four dads with a ladder”, the group have chosen anonymity to avoid unwanted attention from "groups with opposing views".

When asked how they choose the quotes which get blown up and plastered all over the country the group’s spokesperson said: “They choose themselves.

“These people said the stupidest things, they almost put themselves up on billboards.”

Led By Donkeys made the decision to include Newport in their campaign due to the fact that the area voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.

“Wales suffered so much at the hands of de-industrialisation,” said the group’s spokesperson.

“And the same people that did harm to Wales before would do the same again if they get the Brexit they're pushing for.”

Commenting on the billboard bearing his quote, Mr Minford said: “This quote is from 2012!

“Seven years later more facts are available, more optimisms (sic) is justified.

“Brexit will make the car industry far more profitable, when you factor in the Brexit exchange rate adjustment.”