'He's lying to you' sign pointed at Nigel Farage to go on display in Brussels museum of European history

Images of the piece of paper being pointed at the then-Ukip leader went viral around the world

An iconic homemade sign used to mock Nigel Farage during a European parliament debate is to go on display at a museum in Brussels, The Independent has learned.

The House of European History, which tells the continent’s story from emergence to integration, will include the object in a special exhibition about Brexit from later this month.

On 1 February 2017 Labour MEP Seb Dance scrawled “he’s lying to you” on a piece of paper with an arrow pointing at Mr Farage, in what he calls “a moment of pure rage and anger”.

“I decided I had to try to do something and, noticing the empty chair behind him, I made a sudden decision to grab a piece of paper and scrawl a simple message on it,” he explained at the time.

The images went viral around the world, tapping into a frustration their opponents felt about Brexiteers’ conduct before, during, and after the EU referendum campaign.

The sign will be displayed alongside other objects and documents related to Britain’s contribution and departure from the European Union. Last Friday the UK’s flag outside the European parliament was hauled down and taken to the museum for safe-keeping.

Mr Dance told The Independent: “I loaned the House of European History my sign as I thought it provided another side of the Brexit story.

“It is of course (so far) a victory for Mr Farage, but there is and will always be opposition to his brand of politics.

“Its ascendency now is a threat to all of those who believe in liberal democracy, multilateralism and solidarity among nations.

“It was a moment of pure rage and anger against populism and my hope was that it would play whatever small part in making people question what he says.”

The incident happened during a debate in which Mr Farage argued in favour of Donald Trump’s immigration policy, whose implementation he argued represented “genuine democracy”.

Ukip MEPs made a formal complaint about the sign to the parliamentary authorities. Then-MEP Bill Etheridge described the protest as “disgusting” and “defamatory”.

A spokesperson for the House of European History confirmed the sign had been received “on loan” after it put a call out for historic artefacts relating to the UK’s departure. Other items received included a "friendship" scarf featuring both a UK flag and EU flag, worn by MEP Rory Palmer during the final sitting of British representatives in Brussels.

“We are currently ‘inventorising’ all the objects we received. We will show a selection of the objects in a temporary showcase in the House of European History, in the next one or two weeks,” the spokesperson said.

The museum is located in Parc Leopold near the European parliament’s base in Brussels. It tells the story of the continent’s history from the conception of the idea of Europe, through to modernity, via centuries of war and ultimately integration.

Entry to the museum is free and it is designed to be enjoyed in all the EU’s languages, with most commentary on displays provided through an audio guide. The museum’s creation was an initiative of the European parliament and it opened in 2017.