Leave.EU founder Arron Banks has been criticised after he sent a 'despicable' tweet about teen climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
The insurance tycoon was slammed for a comment he made as the 16-year-old set sail on a zero-carbon trip across the Atlantic.
He responded to a post by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas about Greta's voyage across the Atlantic on a racing yacht, writing: "Freak yachting accidents do happen in August ..."
He later tweeted that it was a "joke" after his comment sparked outrage from social media users, saying “you lefties have no sense of humour.”
Labour MP David Lammy hit back at the Brexiteer businessman, calling him "nasty, wicked, and evil" before saying it was "terribly sad this man has bankrolled the peril facing our country."
Mr Banks also claimed Ms Thunberg was being “used,” adding: “Obviously I don't hope she encounters a freak yachting accident! I just enjoy watching the ludicrous tweeter mob following the next outrage ..."
Twitter trolls said the teen had "many mental disorders but is paraded around as a prop for the environmental movement. How is this not child abuse?"
Another said she was a "pretentious child puppet," while one said she was the "most annoying, condescending kid of the year."
Among those to criticise his post was radio presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer, who said "she's a child, Arron. FFS," but went on to criticise the teen herself.
She wrote: "Hi Greta, I’ve just booked some long haul flights for my family to enjoy some winter sun on the beach this Christmas. Level of guilt being felt: 0%."
Ms Hartley-Brewer later added: "St Greta is a political campaigner to be debated or she is a child to be ignored. Pick one."
Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington also slammed Mr Banks, tweeting: "You're wishing a potentially fatal accident onto a sixteen year old girl, why..?"
She had earlier written: "If you are a grown up, fully-fledged adult and you are mocking this young girl for trying to save the planet then I genuinely feel sorry for you."
One Twitter user responded to Mr Banks' post by saying: "You know she's 16, right?" while another described his comment as "despicable".
The Swedish environmental campaigner is embarking on a two-week voyage onboard racing yacht Malizia II so she can attend high-profile climate events without using planes or cruise ships, which emit greenhouse gas emissions.
The 60ft vessel has solar panels and underwater turbines to generate zero-carbon electricity on board.
The Swedish teenager's "school strikes" have inspired a global protest movement by young people demanding urgent action on climate change.
Ms Thunberg told the BBC that travelling by boat sends a signal that "the climate change crisis is a real thing".
She will be joining demonstrations and speaking at the UN Climate Action Summit hosted by secretary-general Antonio Guterres in New York in September.
Ms Thunberg, who is taking a sabbatical year from school, is also planning to visit Canada and Mexico before travelling to this year's UN climate conference, which is taking place in Santiago, Chile, in December, making her journeys by train and bus.
The vessel is captained by Boris Herrmann, and Ms Thunberg will also be accompanied on the two-week journey by a filmmaker, her father Svante and Pierre Casiraghi, the grandson of Monaco's late Prince Rainier III and American actress Grace Kelly.
