Monty Python comic says he’s moving to island of Nevis because he is fed up with ‘lying and triviality’ of British press

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Monty Python comic John Cleese says he is moving to the Caribbean in November because he is so disappointed with Britain.

The 78-year-old told BBC Two’s Newsnight his “particular beef” was with the “lying and triviality” of British newspapers.

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Cleese also said the standard of debate around Brexit had been awful.

He plans to relocate to the “gorgeous” island of Nevis – which has a population of just 11,000 – in the autumn.

The long-time Liberal Democrat supporter, who turned down a life peerage in 1999, has been a vocal supporter of electoral and press reform.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest View of the Caribbean island of Nevis from Saint Kitts. Photograph: Wirepec/Getty Images/iStockphoto

He expressed his disappointment that both proportional representation and the second phase of the Leveson inquiry into press standards had been “kicked out by rightwing governments”, adding: “I just thought to myself: ‘Right I’ll just give up and try somewhere else.’”

Saying his “particular beef” was with newspapers, Cleese showed Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis figures from an EU report that claimed the UK had the lowest level of trust in the printed media.

He laughed when she suggested the statistics showed the UK press was robust.

“Least trusted does not necessarily mean not true,” Maitlis added.

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Cleese, who backed leave in the 2016 EU referendum, went on to brand the standard of debate around Brexit “one of the most depressing things about this country”.

“There were dreadful lies on the right about all the money that would come into the National Health Service,” he said. On the other hand, remainers such as David Cameron and George Osborne used scare tactics, Cleese claimed.

“Very few people have any idea of what’s actually going to happen. Why’s everyone so passionate when they can’t possibly know what the outcome is?” he asked.

Cleese said of Nevis: “It’s one of the nicest islands I’ve ever been on. The relationship between the races is absolutely superb. The people there are really kind.”