It was the shock election result of the summer (so far) – the storming of the European elections by the Lib Dems and Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party. 

Now, the UK’s new MEPs have arrived in Brussels, and are continuing to make a splash. 

And surprising absolutely no-one, Farage and his Brexit Party MEPs marked their new presence with an act of defiance, turning their backs to the parliament while the EU’s Anthem of Europe was played.

London MEP Ben Habib tweeted: “Just had to endure the EU’s attempt at a supranational anthem. You will be pleased to know that we turned our backs for the duration.

“The EU is not a state,” he continued. “It should not have an anthem. That it does tells you everything you need to know about the direction of travel.” 

But the stunt didn’t go down so well, with Labour’s leader in Brussels Richard Corbett, who called it “pathetic”. 

“Nigel Farage and his band of Brexit company MEPs think they’re being clever by standing with their backs to the chair at the opening session of the European parliament,” he wrote on social media. “Looks pathetic and not impressed anyone!” 

Meanwhile, pro-EU Lib Dem MEPs celebrated the start of a new parliamentary session in a very different way, donning bright yellow ‘bollocks to Brexit’ T-shirts. 

The statement outfits seemed to go down pretty well with the EU’s Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, who tweeted a photo of one Lib Dem MEP with the caption: “Here’s my new view in the plenary of the European Parliament #BollockstoBrexit #IamEuropean”. 

The European elections in May saw shock results in the UK, with Labour and the Tories knocked down the rankings by the Brexit Party and the Lib Dems. 

While Farage’s party topped the result table, securing 29 seats in European parliament, the Lib Dems came a close second with 20% of the vote share.