Is John Terry backing Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain?

Former England captain John Terry has something in common with Donald Trump – both have taken to the podium to milk the cheers of a Chelsea tournament victory they played absolutely no part in. But might the man in the blue shirt be following the man in the red tie into the world of hard right politics?

Terry, now an academy coach at Chelsea, appeared at the weekend to support calls by Rupert Lowe, leader of the far right Restore Britain party, to ban the burqa and, vitally, ensure London Underground stations only displayed signage in English.

Lowe, the MP who split from Reform last year after falling out with Nigel Farage, posted a picture on Instagram of Whitechapel Tube station in East London, which has had signs in Bengali alongside English for the past four years to pay tribute to the contribution the Bangladeshi community has made to the area.

“This picture was taken in London,” fumed Lowe. “Restore Britain would ban the burqa, and Restore Britain would ensure that all London stations use English, and English only. Enough is enough.”

Suggested Reading

Is Sarah Pochin too mad even for Reform?

Rats in a Sack

Terry’s account then responded to the post with three clapping emojis and one Cross of St George, prompting Lowe to post again, with the same photograph, saying: “I see that England/Chelsea legend John Terry is taking some flak for applauding Restore Britain’s policy of banning the burqa and ensuring that all London stations use English, and English only.

“This is the position the vast majority of the British people support. There is now a political party that will say exactly what people think and fight to make it happen. Restore Britain.”

Might Terry be tempted to join Lowe on the green benches of the Commons? He is not known for his political views, but last year put his head above the parapet to speak out in favour of Roman Abramovich, the former Chelsea owner sanctioned by the UK government following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Abramovich, alleged to have ties to Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin, had his UK assets frozen, a travel ban was put in place and he was forced to sell the Premier League club.

But last year Terry said: “’I think it’s disgusting what’s happened to him. He was just a lovely, lovely man who loved our football club and thankfully turned away from one other football club [Tottenham Hotspur] and made the right decision to come to us.”