Brexiter tries to correct actual historian about Ancient Rome - because he 'studied it at school'

Major Ukip and Leave.EU donor Arron Banks tried to-out Roman history the famed Roman historian Mary Beard on Twitter on Monday.

As prominent brexiter Michael Gove argued during the campaign, the public have had enough of experts...

Yet that didn't stop Banks from positing his knowledge about the end of the Roman empire (476 CE) as a reason to listen to him today about immigration.

Banks endorsed the argument of another user, who had drawn a parallel between migrants and the barbarian hordes, arguing by implication that western civilisation (today's Rome) would fall if it went uncurbed.

Professor Mary Beard, an academic and popular television classicist - who has written several books about the Roman Empire - chose to use her decades of experience in archives and on archeological digs to question Bank's reasoning.

Time for a free and open debate surely, in which Beard's argument is countered with some evidence, perhaps in order to prove that Banks was basing his view on evidence.

Banks responded:

Banks studied Rome when he was at school, you see...

Banks flourished his credentials.

Though some of them seem to be pure bait for Remainers. Sarcasm on Twitter is difficult to achieve.

When this wasn't up to scratch, Banks changed to this defence:

Some would argue that interpretation and opinion aren't the same thing.

But that's just indy100'sinterpretation opinion.

Banks wasn't completely going for Beard like others arguing his point. After a few hours he offered a hats off to the don.

Needless to say, Remainers and lovers of reason were quite pleased that Banks had taken on their champion Beard.

Others decided Beard was a 'mainstream' historian.

Curse her well-researched, evidence-based arguments which have convinced her peers and made her books popular and her wealthier.

Here, Beard uses her knowledge to deal with other such specimen:

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