The following is a wonderful exposé by Emma on X. Emma describes herself as a molecular biologist who fights misinformation.
It is about a man who was asked to leave a train because he did not have a ticket.
Now follow the thread and find out what actually happened and how Andrea Jenkyns of Reform UK purposefully distorted it to create division, hate and misinformation.
Back in May, Anne-Marie Miles posted a video describing how she saw an elderly man having a discussion with a ticket inspector and she went to help.
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
She recognised him locally. He was homeless, carrying his belongings in a little trolly with his dog.
2/20 https://t.co/rSXACYuMyq
He said he was a veteran and apparently gave his service number
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
Anne-Marie is married to a man in the armed forces
She went to offer to pay for his ticket but the man said he had cash and the ticket inspector refused to take it
He didn’t have a smart phone or bank cards
3/20
The ticket guy apparently refused to let her pay either and the man was asked to get off at the next station
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
She was upset by what happened, posted that video & then started a petition calling for military veterans to receive free public transporthttps://t.co/aEucWUutis
4/20
For those asking, the man in the photo of the petition is Anne-Marie’s husband, not the homeless veteran on the train.
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
5/20
There may have been more to the story as to why he was asked to leave the train at the next station🤷🏼♀️
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
If not, then it seems @TPExpressTrains broke their own ticketing guidelines
7/20
So far, so good.
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
The story sounds plausible.
He did appear to be kicked off the train unfairly (if he was genuinely offering to pay, as was Anne-Marie)
And there is definitely a discussion to be had around what “perks” our veterans receive after they retire
9/20
Where my issue comes in is that Jenkyns can’t just make those points.
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
She can’t make the case for free transport for veterans without adding in a little 🐕 whistle 🙄
“We must put British people first”
What does that mean in relation to this story OR the petition?
10/20 pic.twitter.com/bYV74Z1Q4B
Remember, her party was in government for 14 years🤷🏼♀️
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
14 years they could have implemented free public transport for veterans.
But they didn’t.
They did very little to support our military and veterans.
(yes I know she’s Reform NOW!)
11/20 pic.twitter.com/FAzjPrSfXx
So back to “we must put British people first”?
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
Is she suggesting he was kicked off the train for being British?
That if he’d been foreign it wouldn’t have happened?
Is she implying non-British people get free public transport??
No, of course not!
It’s just a dog whistle
12/
A way to hijack a genuine issue to sew some seeds of division.
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
Create a general nebulous sense that non-British people are somehow to blame, or that they get some privileges over the British.
Politics of stoking division with a sprinkling of good old xenophobia
13/20
Only yesterday I did a thread highlighting this idea of Right Wing politicians/media asking you to pit vulnerable groups against each other, rather than question who is ACTUALLY to blame for their vulnerabilities
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
She’s taping into that same sentiment
Foreigners vs veterans
14/ https://t.co/I9zbeU5J31
To respond to people’s comments on this story:
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
Yes, he should have paid
BUT the train company’s policy does allow payment on the train
It does seem wrong he was thrown off the train.
The petition is legit.
Anne-Marie seems genuine.
The photo is of her husband.
15/20
The petition isn’t directly about the incident on the train.
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
Should Veterans get free public transport?
I don’t know, but it seems like a genuine area for discussion.
The fact that the 🐕 😗ing Jenkyns has shared it, isn’t a reason to discount it! 😉
16/20
But it’s the insidious “throw away” line aimed at suggesting that British people are somehow being disadvantaged by foreigners, that’s the issue
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
Nothing the story NOR petition warrants that comment
But she can’t help herself🙄
Always watch out for it and don’t fall for it
17/
In this instance, there was an assumption that because the story and petition was being shared by Jenkyns, it must be BS and need debunking!
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
I get that! I assumed that too🤭
But sometimes these stories are genuine (nothing I’ve found suggests otherwise)
18/20
But the xenophobia, the seeds of division, the implication that British people are somehow treated unfairly IS BS!
— Emma 💛💙🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MonkEmma) July 21, 2025
And that DOES need calling out!
19/20
If you like Emma’s debunks (even when they don’t confirm your biases), please sign up to
https://open.substack.com/pub/monkdebunks It’s completely free, unless you choose to support my research with a paid subscription!
http://coff.ee/MonkDebunks Coffees are always appreciated too.
As for Andrea Jenkyns and Reform UK:
Don’t trust them to do anything but spread lies and hate for their own ends.
