UKIP is standing by racist parliamentary candidate for Ilford South Paul Wiffen, who spoke about "Muslim nutters" and "Romanian gypsies who beat their wives".
The UK Independence Party is today standing by its racist parliamentary candidate for Ilford South Paul Wiffen, saying that since he had “apologised” for his inflammatory remarks about “Left-wing scum”, “Romanian gypsies who beat their wives and children”, “Muslim nutters” and “Africans who sold their Afro-Carribean brothers into slavery”, he was free to carry on. The party has described his comments merely as “mistakes”, insisting they aren’t racist.
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Wiffen, who has been suspended as UKIP’s London chair but remains a party candidate, posted the abuse on the social work website “Community Care“. He says he did so to rebut “the lies about UKIP being a racist party”, adding: “I just saw red, and fired off an angry email.”
He was immediately condemned by the candidates for the three main parties. Labour incumbent Mike Gapes said there was an “unpleasant whiff about Mr Wiffen”, Tory PPC Toby Boutle said “it says a lot about UKIP that someone like this is their regional chairman in London” and Liberal Democrat candidate Anood Al-Samerai added: “I would not wish to see this man standing in Ilford South.” |
A spokesman for anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate told Left Foot Forward that UKIP had “some very odd views … possibly some of them are racist but not all”. In 2006, Conservative Party leader David Cameron had described UKIP as “closet racists“, telling LBC:
“Ukip is sort of a bunch of … fruit cakes and loonies and closet racists mostly.”
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18 Responses to “The new BNP? UKIP stands by racist PPC”
Left Foot Forward
The new BNP? UKIP stands by racist PPC: http://bit.ly/cT3L87
Ali Esbati
RT @leftfootfwd: The new BNP? UKIP stands by racist PPC: http://bit.ly/cT3L87
Outside Left
I wrote the blog that so incensed Paul Wiffen. As it happens, I didn’t call Ukip racist, although I did describe its policy on asylum as cynical. It was only after Wiffen posted his inflammatory remarks that subsequent respondents questioned Ukip’s race equality credentials.
Mike
Robert
UKIP need to do rather more to distance themselves from this man’s vile and Nazi appeasing remarks.
Anon E Mouse
His remark “Muslim nutters” needs to be shown in the context it was said really – to be racist it needs surely to be about a race of people and not a religion?
This is where stupid and ill considered laws passed by the last inept government led by Brown needs to be called to account.
If this is racist rather than anti religious then the Labour candidate and good personal friend of the Labour Scottish secretary and Gordon Brown’s wife, Stuart MacLennan who has just resigned (or been sacked) sang anti catholic chants – is that also racist?
I think Shamik has a much bigger story here – especially in light of the general election. Labour candidates, like UKIP candidates seem to be racist.
Nice one I say Shamik…