Ricky Gervais has dropped a C-bomb while blasting people who questioned whether animals should be saved from Afghanistan.
The After Life star is a big animal lover and campaigner for animal rights, and was outraged by the plight of former Royal Marine Pen Farthing, who accused the Ministry of Defence of delaying his evacuation plans for him, his charity workers and his rescue animals.
Farthing had chartered a plane to land at Kabul Airport to take the workers at his animal shelter Nowzad, as well as the shelter’s rescue animals, to safety.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News: ‘I’m not prepared to prioritise pets over people.
‘It is just not going to be the case that I will prioritise them over the men, women and children that we see in desperate need at the gate. I regret that but I don’t believe the Taliban’s main point of target will be his workforce and indeed the pets and the animals he is looking after compared to some of those other people desperate in front of the queue.’
Fury was further stoked when a Toyota car was airlifted and brought aboard a British aircraft which was preparing to take off from Kabul.
Ricky was among those who backed Farthing’s campaign to evacuate the rescue animals along with himself and his staff, tweeting: ‘Urgent: @PenFarthing is brave and kind. Such honour should be rewarded. He’s still trying to save others in the face of grave danger. He shouldn’t be left behind.
‘And they rescued a f***ing car? Shame. #OperationArk.’
The 60-year-old then lashed out at people suggesting that animals shouldn’t come before people in the queue, clarifying that animals would be in the hold.
He tweeted: ‘Dear stupid c***s saying we shouldn’t put animals before people..
‘1. The animals go in the hold where people can’t go. 2. This is an extra, privately funded plane that will allow MORE people to be saved. #OperationArk.’
Farthing quoted Ricky’s tweet and added: ‘I know.. right? The cargo hold is empty – we put the dogs and cats in there!! And 250 people above in the cabin!’
Since Ricky’s tweets, the Ministry of Defence has given Farthing the go-ahead to evacuate his rescue animals from Afghanistan.
Mr Wallace tweeted: ‘Now that Pen Farthing’s staff have been cleared to come forward under LOTR, I have authorised MOD to facilitate their processing alongside all other eligible personnel at HKIA. At that stage, if he arrives with his animals we will seek a slot for his plane.
‘If he does not have his animals with him, he and his staff can board an RAF flight.
‘I have been consistent all along, ensuring those most at risk are processed first and that the limiting factor has been flow THROUGH to airside NOT airplane capacity. No one has the right in this humanitarian crisis to jump the queue.’
This comes after Ricky teamed up with Downton Abbey star Peter Egan to launch a petition calling for animals in labs to have the same rights under the act as domestic pets.