Simon Hunter
AN UNLIKELY figure has waded into a row playing out in Spain involving the environmental transition minister, Teresa Ribera. Irish mixed martial artist and UFC fighter Conor McGregor took to Twitter to join a chorus of criticism of Ribera.
The Socialist Party minister raised the ire of social media users on Monday after arrived at an informal meeting of European Union energy ministers at a meeting in the northern Spanish city of Valladolid.
In an effort to use sustainable travel, the minister arrived on an electric bicycle while being escorted by two official cars, from which members of her team were taking pictures and recording videos.
Earlier in the week, members of far-right Vox and the conservative Popular Party (PP) had spread a false rumour that the minister had taken the prime minister’s Falcon jet to get to the event.
This prompted a Twitter user called Dr. Eli David to share a video of Ribera arriving at the conference by bicycle, repeating the false claim about the use of the jet and criticising her for using a motorcade as well as the bicycle for the last part of the journey. He included the hashtag “#ClimateHypocrisy”.
In a retweet of that post, Conor McGregor wrote: “Ridiculous carry on. Enough! Either walk it, talk it, live it, breath it. Or shut it!”
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