From Foxes to Far-Right Talking Points: The Nastiness and Hypocrisy of Astrid Clifford
The Face of the League—and the Voice of the Far Right
Last June, in the run-up to the General Election, while most of the country was preoccupied with rising prices, crumbling public services, and the fate of the natural world, Astrid Clifford—the Acting Chair of the League Against Cruel Sports—was busy sharing a meme straight from the sewer of the online culture war.
The image she reposted read:
“The NHS spent £65 million on translation services.
£56m on foreign language interpretation.
£9m on sign language in 2019/20.
In Spain if you go to hospital and cannot speak the language you have to bring your own interpreter.”
Above it, a comment from the user BrexitBassist declared with outrage that, “We are meant to be the National Health Service that you pay for with your national insurance health contributions. Not a (sic) International free for all health service that you don’t pay a penny into. Or a woke protest group. Let that sink in.”
This wasn’t a stray like or lazy scroll. Clifford deliberately reposted it, knowing its implication: a grievance-laced narrative designed to stir resentment towards immigrants, non-native English speakers, and disabled people who rely on sign language. It was—and remains—a calculated appeal to anti-immigrant sentiment.
It wasn’t the first time. Clifford has previously reposted articles from The Publica, a far-right propaganda site whose founders are known for attacking feminism, immigration and multiculturalism. Clifford chose to promote one article from the site on three separate occasions.
The Hypocrisy is International
The irony, of course, is staggering. Astrid Clifford spent most of her career working for HSBC in India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Oman, the UAE, the US, Jersey, and Armenia. She took high-paying banking jobs in other people’s countries—jobs which, by her own warped logic, might have gone to a local.
Did she speak the language in each of those countries? Did she pay into their social systems? Or did she just bring her own “interpreter,” like the meme she promotes demands?
And where was her outrage when her own industry brought Britain to its knees? The banking crash of 2008, for which Clifford’s sector was responsible, forced the UK government to spend £133 billion to stabilise the financial system, with a net cost to the taxpayer of £27 billion. But she wasn’t reposting memes about that.
Instead, she chose to be outraged about £65 million spent on making sure NHS patients—many of whom do pay taxes—can understand their diagnosis or explain symptoms. She even seemed to object to £9 million spent on sign language interpretation. What exactly does she propose? That deaf patients just guess what their doctor is saying?
What About the Real NHS Costs?
If Clifford genuinely cared about NHS waste, she might start with the big figures:
- Smoking: £2.6 billion
- Alcohol-related harm: £4.91 billion
- Obesity: £6.5 billion
But no. Her fury is reserved for the vulnerable. For the voiceless. For the people least able to defend themselves.
A Culture of Contempt
A senior charity figure reposts a meme that plays into anti-immigrant sentiment and is defended by a senior management team who see nothing wrong with it.
Because here’s the damning part: trustees Viktoria Petrova and Ashleigh Fiona Brown, as well as then Acting CEO Chris Luffingham, would have been informed about Clifford’s posts. And the League’s response? They didn’t see a breach of the Trustees’ Code of Conduct.
That code explicitly states that trustees must “maintain and uphold the reputation of the League Against Cruel Sports at all times” and “avoid publishing any material… that could risk bringing you or the League into disrepute.”
Apparently, reposting content that stokes racial division and targets disabled people is now part of the League’s acceptable communications strategy.
Is This What the League Has Become?
The League once stood for decency, compassion and courage. But under Clifford, it has become spineless and morally rudderless. It is led by someone more interested in online culture wars than protecting wildlife, more agitated by NHS interpreters than fox hunters.
What message does this send to the League’s staff, volunteers and supporters—especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds, those with disabilities, and those who’ve come to the UK as migrants but passionately support the protection of animals?
A Line Has Been Crossed
This is no longer just a question of personal opinion. It is a matter of judgment, values, and the trust placed in charity leaders. If a person at the helm of a major UK animal welfare organisation cannot grasp why this content is offensive, divisive, and dangerous, then they have no business holding that position.
Astrid Clifford should go. And those who protected her—by defending the indefensible—should consider their own positions too.
#TimeForChange
