Fidias apologises for ‘loonies’ comment, points finger at political opponents

Social media influencer and MEP Fidias Panayiotou on Tuesday apologised for calling paralympic athletes “loonies”, though he did at the same time suggest that there may have been political motivations behind those who criticised him for his use of language.

“The first thing I want to say is that I should not have used this word to characterise anyone, any disability, disorder or illness,” he said in a video on social media, though he twice insisted that he used the term “without wanting to” and “unwillingly”.