An MP described grey squirrels as the "Hamas of the squirrel world" during a debate in Parliament on Tuesday, 28 November. Jim Shannon, DUP MP for Strangford, compared the animals to the militant group while MPs discussed control of the grey squirrel population. Thanking a local group for their work protecting the future of the red squirrel in his constituency, Mr Shannon said: "The issue is the very presence of grey squirrels." The Woodland Trust says the introduction of grey squirrels has had a "disastrous" on the red species as they carry the squirrelpox virus and compete with the native species to food.