UKIP: OLAF & more from The Wolfman

OLAF

OLAF's relationship with UKIP was mentioned at the last NEC meeting. All those present were assured that everything was just fine and that UKIP had nothing to worry about. Oh really? We strongly advise them to have a word with Derek Clark and Graham Booth. Both have been under investigation by OLAF and both have hardly come out of the experience smelling of roses! More on this in due course.

The Wolfman protests too much



Mick 'wolfman' McGough - serial liar and idiot - has been telling anyone who will listen how he always knew that David Bannerman was untrustworthy and was just using UKIP for his own selfish ends. He even claims to have confided to many UKIPPERS that Bannerman was 'a wrong un'.

A quick call to some of our Eastern Region contacts proved very illuminating. None can recall the Wolfman EVER expressing ANY doubts about Bannerman's loyalty to UKIP. Indeed, all can clearly remember McGough defending him to the hilt whenever the UKIP MEP faced criticism from GLW, Andrew Edwards or this blog. This support for Bannerman continued right up to his defection to the Tories.

They also pointed out that McGough was always totally opposed to an investigation into the allegations that the Eastern Region selection process was rigged to favour Bannerman.

So please take McGough's comments with the biggest pinch of salt you can possibly find. And could someone remind him that it is very easy to be wise after the event.

And finally....

Keep an eye out for a new magazine. It should be arriving at your door very soon!

So when will Andrew Smith and Mick 'wolfman' McGough be expelled from UKIP?

Smith

The Wolfman


Would you trust ANY of these men with your money? We thought not!

Interesting quote from Farage:

"we´ve always been open to dual membership, dual support. We´re entirely happy with people being members of UKIP and also being part of the Labour Party, or the Tories etc. ...We do draw the line at those who are officers or candidates for other parties..."

To read the original: LINK

So one can only wonder as to why Andrew Smith and Wolfman McGough are still allowed to be members of UKIP? And the reason for asking this? Both are officials of The Tea Party according the Electoral Commission website. The Wolfman is Nominating Officer and Treasurer of the TEA PARTY. And Smith is listed as Party Leader.

And why the Tea Party? They have copied an American movement named after the Boston Tea Party - an event which triggered an anti-British revolution. Now that is really going to resonate with British voters! Please note the sarcasm in the last sentence.

And what about Godfrey Bloom? He is a board member of a pan-Eurpean party. See: LINK . Surely, he should also face expulsion. After all, the rules are quite clear.

...We do draw the line at those who are officers or candidates for other parties..."

But what are we saying? We forget one very simple UKIP fact - the rules only apply when Farage says they apply!

UKIP: Certain MEPs need to get worried, Nikki Sinclaire in The Sunday Mirror & Roger Knapman considers his future

Nigel Farage: A man with a lot to hide!

Certain MEPs should start getting worried!

The likes of Derek Clark and Graham Booth should really come clean about their OLAF investigations. Both have now concluded and yet the pair are still reluctant to let members the outcome. Very silly!

From The Sunday Times

A landmark ruling in the European Court of Justice could force MEPs to disclose evidence of misconduct and financial abuse

Bojan Pancevski Published: 12 June 2011

The European parliament could be forced to disclose wide-ranging evidence of financial abuse and misconduct by MEPs after a landmark court ruling last week.

On Tuesday the European Court of Justice ruled that the parliament must release a 2008 report which documented the way MEPs can manipulate allowances to pocket more than £1m from a single five-year term, in addition to their salaries.

The Sunday Times website is today publishing the full report, which the parliament has tried to suppress. Even now it plans to appeal against the court ruling, which follows a three-year battle by Ciaran Toland, an Irish campaigner.

In 2009 this newspaper published part of the report drawn up by Robert Galvin, the parliament’s chief internal auditor.

Abuses include MEPs claiming up to £180,000 in annual staff allowances without having to keep any proof; awarding themselves bonuses of up to 1½ times salary and diverting public money into front companies. The ruling could also result in the parliament having to disclose information including:

- Names of MEPs forced to repay money or found to have committed wrongdoing.

- Internal audits showing abuse of funds by MEPs or senior eurocrats.

- Details of purchases including cars and furniture and information about contracts, some of which have reportedly been awarded without a tendering procedure.

It is understood that more than 10 MEPs are being investigated for possible abuse of funds and could be forced to return money.

Also see: LINK

Nikki Sinclaire in The Sunday Mirror

Nikki continues to get publicity in the national media. We note that Farage was going to get a mention but was dropped just before the following article went to press. It is refreshing to see that the media now consider UKIP's Fuhrer an irrelevance.

Scandal of £51k trip to Seychelles

by: Ben Griffith

EIGHT MEPs will enjoy a £51,000, three-day fishing trip to the Seychelles – paid for by the taxpayers.

Members of the European Parliament Fisheries Committee will see how EU cash for the sunny Indian Ocean Islands is spent.

Each delegate will get £130-a-day expenses as well as luxury accommodation.

None of the UK’s three MEPs on the committee is going and West Midlands MEP Nikki Sinclaire slammed the trip as “flagrant waste of public money”.

She said “Most people can only dream of going to the Indian Ocean. They should be ashamed.”

Committee vice-chairman Struan Stevenson said “It is necessary to go to see where the money is being spent.”

To read the original: LINK

Roger Knapman

We can confirm that Roger Knapman has been asked by an increasing number of disgruntled UKIPPERS to return to active politics and save UKIP from Farage and his bumbling sycophants. But is it too late?

From Critical Reaction

When Being Baldwinian is a Good Thing

Maybe not Roger, over and out after all?

There may well be no second acts in American life, but what about UKIP? Rumour comes our way that Roger Knapman, the Cincinnatus of Withdrawalism, might be prepared to temporarily return as UKIP’s leader in order to try and salvage that bedraggled party. No one surely can be any doubt about the depth of the crisis UKIP is in.

Leader after leader after leader has been undermined from within; no credible effort has been made to professionalise the party or its personnel; scandal surrounds it and with good cause; no serious prospect of even a Green-style, single Westminster constituency break-through is on the cards (Farage’s stroke of genius in Buckingham resulting in a humiliating 3rd place behind John Stevens); MEP after MEP departs UKIP once elected to Strasbourg; opportunities, most infamously the Kilroy-Silk moment, are unerringly squandered; such funds as are raised, rightly from donors or more dubiously from the EU itself are wasted; legal cases are needlessly fought and lost; and the only thing consistent other than failure is the enduring presence of one man: Nigel Farage.

We have long argued that he is a liability, but perhaps we need make the case with still greater emphasis. Whatever David Campbell-Bannerman imagines, ‘cast-iron’ Cameron can’t be trusted on Europe to do anything other than keep us in. And UKIP if it serves any purpose at all obliges Europhile Tory leaders to at least affect scepticism at election time, even if they don’t very often deliver it in office. Should Nigel Farage – currently embroiled in the noxiously wrong goal of building of all things, a ‘pan-European political party’ – finally complete his seeming life’s work and destroy Britain’s most high-profile Withdrawalist organisation, he will liberate David Cameron from the Right, and this Prime Minister hardly needs any more reason or opportunity to follow his own pro-membership leanings.

Should Knapman in fact will be willing to get back into the swamp of UKIP for even a short period, he would potentially be doing Britain a service at least as brave and as decent as he did when he stood against Maastricht all those years ago. It’s five minutes to midnight for UKIP and the best thing she could possibly get would be some honest Euroscepticism again.

To read the original: LINK

UKIP: Douglas Denny sees the light, more Nikki Sinclaire & Farage crash pilot given community order

In a recent thread on the UKIP members only forum we noticed a couple of interesting comments from Steve Allison and Douglas Denny. Mr Allison reminded members of this quote:

Journalist to newly elected MEP;

"UKIP want the UK to leave the EU, so why are you taking up seats in the European Parliament, an institution you oppose."

Newly elected MEP to Journalist;

"Simple. We are going there to wreck it!"

Denny replied:

If only they could do some wrecking. But they cannot.

We have had MEPs for many years - tell me - how much actual wrecking have they achieved by being in the EU system in all this time?

All they are doing is engaging in the 'approved' and 'official' system. They are a part of it - absorbed and responding as required. With no real powers to do anything. They are political eunuchs.

They have become like cyborgs in the 'Startreck' movies:

Journalist to new mep in reply:- "Resistance is futil..you will be absobed into the Collective".

DED.

So at long last the scales have fallen from his eyes! Too little, too late!

Nikki Sinclaire in the Birmingham Post



MEP Nikki Sinclaire still hoping to stand for UKIP at next election

West Midlands MEP Nikki Sinclaire fell out with her UKIP colleagues last year, but she tells Political Editor Jonathan Walker why she could still return to the fold – and why she turns her back when she hears Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

A rebel MEP who was expelled from UKIP and took the party to an employment tribunal has said she still hopes to stand in the next European elections – as a UKIP candidate.

Nikki Sinclaire said she could still patch things up with her party despite a bitter public feud with leader Nigel Farage and an ongoing row over allegations of sexism and homophobia.

Ms Sinclaire revealed this was not the first time she took legal action against UKIP. A High Court ruling in 2004 found in her favour after the party attempted to remove her from its National Executive Committee.

She went on to become the second UKIP MEP representing the West Midlands when she was elected in 2009.

Speaking to the Birmingham Post, Ms Sinclaire also said she had spent £11,000 from EU funds on newspaper adverts to promote her campaign for a referendum on leaving the EU.

The campaign, backed by West Midlands UKIP MEP Mike Nattrass and celebrity chef Rustie Lee, has so far attracted 50,000 signatures.

She said: “The adverts were paid for out of my communication budget, and that had to be pre-approved by the Parliament. It was fantastic to get that.”

Ms Sinclaire’s joy in becoming UKIP’s second West Midlands MEP in 2009 quickly turned sour after she fell out with her colleagues in 2010 over her refusal to sit with the Europe of Freedom and Democracy group, UKIP’s group in the European Parliament.

This included parties from other European nations, including some which she considered to be homophobic and anti-semitic.

As a result, she was stripped of the party whip, preventing her from calling herself a UKIP MEP or standing as a UKIP candidate in future elections.

Ms Sinclaire has also claimed her poor relationship with Nigel Farage, UKIP’s leader from 2007 to 2009 – who became party leader for a second time last November – was a factor in her expulsion.

Since then, she has been joined as an independent by Mike Nattrass, the other UKIP MEP in the West Midlands, and Trevor Colman, UKIP MEP for the South-west, both of whom have left the Europe of Freedom and Democracy group.

However, unlike Ms Sinclaire, neither of them was disciplined by UKIP.

Ms Sinclaire won a claim for sex discrimination against her former colleagues at UKIP at an employment tribunal last December.

But despite the result she said she would be happy to return to the fold if she got the chance.

She said: “There are ongoing issues at the moment, but I have been at loggerheads with UKIP before and then came back.

“So I wouldn’t rule it out.”

It would be hard to win re-election as an independent, she said.

“I’m 42 and I can’t see myself wanting to retire yet. I would want to keep fighting.

“But European elections are about parties, not people. It’s all about your profile.”

Ms Sinclaire publicly said she was a lesbian in an interview with the Pink Paper in 2004, saying she wanted to show that UKIP was not an “anti-gay”, intolerant party.

But she said she did not want to be seen as a campaigner for gay rights, although she paid tribute to politicians such as Labour West Midlands MEP Michael Cashman, the former Eastenders actor, who were.

“I have never been a gay rights activist. I respect the people who have, like Michael Cashman, and probably if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have been elected.

“I know Michael Cashman went through hell when he first got elected. I’ll be there to support issues, but I’m not an activist.

“I think my sexuality shouldn’t count. It really shouldn’t matter.”

What she did want to focus on was the abuse of taxpayers’ money by the European Union, she said.

“For example, MEPs can claim a daily living expense when they are at the European Parliament, but you get MEPs signing in on Friday in Strasbourg, when there is no official business and claiming their 304 euros (£265)

“They start at 7am and sign in. They go downstairs, get into an official car, go to an airport or Eurostar and they’ll be back in the country at 8am or 9am.”

Ms Sinclaire also attacked Conservative MEPs, claiming they stand to attention when the EU “national anthem”, the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, is played.

She said: “The Conservatives annoy me. When they play Beethoven, the number of Conservative MEPs who stand to attention – probably two thirds of the Conservative MEPs stand up for that.

“I tend to get up, turn my back and sit on my desk.”

The European Constitution, which was officially scrapped when French and Dutch voters rejected it in 2005, would have given the movement, Ode to Joy, official status as the EU anthem. However, Ms Sinclaire said that it was treated as an official anthem anyway.

To see the original: LINK

Farage crash pilot given community order




So the long running farce has finally ended! It was clear that Justin Adams had mental health problems and needed urgent medical help. The best course of action would have been to refer him to a mental health clinic. This was not done.

Holding Justin Adams in a prison in his fragile state can hardly be seen as serving the interests of justice.

But super rich, 'Spivboy', could always step in and help by paying for Mr Adams to have private treatment. But don't hold your breath waiting for that one. When did Farage ever show signs of compassion for anyone but himself?

We note that Farage wants to "draw a line under this whole affair". So can we now trust trust that he will cease to milk the story for more cheap publicity? Even the most ingratiating of his sycophants is now getting rather sick and tired of hearing how Nigel was 'spared' for some higher purpose.

From the BBC:

A pilot found guilty of threatening to kill UKIP leader Nigel Farage following a plane crash has been given a two-year supervised community order.


A jury found Justin Adams guilty of making five threats relating to Mr Farage and crash investigator Martin James after the accident in May 2010.

The court heard the recording of a phone call where Adams claimed to have a 9mm pistol.

Adams, 46, of Oxfordshire, said his threats were "a cry for help".

Mr Farage said he intends to "draw a line under this whole affair".

In a statement, he added: "Today's sentencing marks the end of a sad and tragic episode.

"As I have stated previously, it is has always been my belief that Mr Adams was in need of help and support from our mental health services, yet he never got the level of care that he needed."

Entangled banner

The crash in Northamptonshire on 6 May last year, the day of the 2010 General Election, left both self-employed pilot Adams and Mr Farage in hospital.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch report found the plane crashed when a campaign banner it was towing became entangled, causing the plane's nose to drop.

Mr Farage said he wants to "draw a line" under the affair

A subsequent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) inquiry, which involved investigator Martin James and looked into whether Adams was qualified to fly with a banner, cleared the pilot.

The court heard that Adams lost work in the six months it took for the CAA investigation into the crash to take place and he was unable to have his plane repaired, as insurers would not pay out until the investigation had been completed.

As well as being angry about the length of time the investigation took, Adams also felt resentment towards Mr Farage, judge Mr Justice Saunders said.

The pilot believed he had lost out on an opportunity to sell his story, having been advised not to speak to the press.

He made threats to kill both CAA crash investigator Mr James and Mr Farage.

During the trial, jurors were played a recording of phone call by Adams to police.

'Drinking to excess'

He said: "I'm going to kill somebody or two", the court heard.

He later added: "I now have a 9mm pistol, I've got the means - I will take them out and then myself."

Adams was found guilty of five counts of making threats to kill by a jury in April.

Mr Justice Saunders said Adams was suffering from "a depressive order of moderate severity" which had been triggered by the crash.

The judge told the court: "He was also drinking to excess, which undoubtedly impaired his judgment and affected his behaviour.

"I also accept, having heard the evidence in the trial, that to an extent these offences were a cry for help as well as an expression of anger and resentment at the events that had happened."

Adams has been in custody for six months before sentencing.

To read the original: LINK

UKIP: Nikki Sinclaire battling for Britain while Farage flees PEP meeting

While Farage lines his pockets........ Nikki continues to Battle for Britain. Taken from Nikki's website:

Questioning the President of the European Commission.

One of the advantages I have as a non-attached member of the European Parliament - I am not a member of any political group - Is that I have more opportunities to speak on important issues. Within the political groups it tends to be only the Presidents of the groups who get important speaking time.

On Tuesday I was able to question Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission.




I asked him how it might be possible to have common EU policies when time and time again we see an inability to reach consensus on important issues such as foreign relations and security and defence. I suggested that it would not be possible to implement common policy without some loss of democracy for the EU member states.

The President's reply was evasive to say the least. I think I hit a raw nerve.

I was also able to ask a supplementary question concerning pan-European political parties.



He confirmed to me that these parties are an integral part of EU integration, and the development of the EU as a state in its own right.

We must be aware of this, and not be seduced - as some clearly are - by the promise of extra cash if our own politicians allow themselves to be subsumed into these wretched pan-European political parties.

Parliament asks for another €1.9 billion!

At a time of extreme austerity, the EU knows no cuts, and simply asks for more and more....

Galileo is the EU's global satellite navigation system. The project has been beset with problems, and appears to be floundering. Therefore, the taxpayer is expected to fork out an extra €1.9 billion in order to bring the project up to speed. Of course, I voted against this.

Galileo is 100% taxpayer funded, as attempts to attract foreign investment failed. At one point, China became involved, and there was discussion about allowing the Chinese to use Galileo as part of its missile targeting system. When common sense prevailed and this idea was jettisoned, the Chinese moved ahead with their own system - the Beidou/Compass satellites - which are already being deployed whilst the EU's project languishes in the bureaucratic doldrums.

EU tax - another attempt to grab our cash!

Many EU states operate a 'vignette' system of taxing vehicles. The system is likely to be rolled out across the EU, with member states being able to tax foreign HGVs using their roads, if they wish.

The European Parliament's Transport Committee has called for 15% of all revenue raised in this way to be handed over to the EU to help fund their own transport projects.

This is just one of a number of 'EU taxes' that are being discussed at the moment. I shall, of course, vote against every single one of these proposals.

Hiding the costs!

A recurring and divisive theme in the European Parliament is the cost of relocating MEPs and staff to Strasbourg for 4 days every month.

On June 8th in Strasbourg, parliamentarians debated a report on the EU's finances. The report contained a reference to the savings that could be made to the taxpayer by ending the ludicrous practice of having two seats. An attempt was made to quietly delete this reference, and to keep the extravagance hushed up. No less than 282 MEPs voted for the cover-up, but it was defeated, and the waste remains exposed.

I was amused to note that three British Conservative MEPs voted for the cover-up, but then retrospectively changed their vote. This is an administrative exercise only - their original vote could have affected the outcome, changing it subsequently would have no effect. I often wonder exactly what the Tories are really up to in Europe...

Scotch Whisky - under threat

I always enjoy meeting representatives of British industry in Strasbourg, and helping in any way that I can. I was therefore delighted when Mike Nattrass and I had the opportunity to meet with Nick Soper of the Scotch Whisky Association.

Whilst the EU is very precious about ensuring that continental brands are protected - Parma Ham must be from Parma, Cognac must be from Cognac, etc - Scotch Whisky suffers from the fact that the origin need not be shown clearly as part of the product name. If it says 'Scotch Whisky', it is of course from Scotland, but if it just says 'Whisky', then take care - it may be from Moldova, Brazil, or anywhere in between.

See Nikki's website for further information: LINK

The Fuhrer flees


At the Surrey PEP hustings meeting on June 4th , Nigel Farage arrived early and appeared to be in fine spirits. However, Tim Congdon hinted to him, somewhat unwisely, that he was to confront him with his own words condemning Pan European Parties at the end of the debate. When Congdon read out Farage's statement threatening legal action against the European Parliament in 2004, Farage had fled the hall and could not be found.

Farage may be a coward, but he is lucky with his enemies. Congdon could have derailed Farage's plans by humiliating him publically with his own words, but sadly he lacks the killer instinct, and Farage fled to fight another day.

Godfrey Bloom: UKIP MEP & Pan European

Just how many members of UKIP are aware that Godfrey Bloom is already a member of a pan-European party? Indeed, he is a board member! That he did not even see fit to consult the membership of UKIP is not surprising. He holds the membership in contempt.

It is interesting to note that one of Bloom's fellow board members is a certain Franz Obermayr of the Austrian FPO.

As Barbara Booker has pointed out:

Mr Obermayr was photographed last year standing alongside French National Front leaders Jean-Marie Le Pen and Bruno Gollnisch when, with Philip Claeys, Adam Walker of the BNP and others, they visited a Japanese shrine that honours convicted war criminals. European right-wingers visit Yasukuni shrine - Taipei Times

Mr Claeys is also on the board. So Bloom is more than happy to sit with the far-right. So much for UKIP's leadership claiming to be non-racist!

Now what does UKIP say?

"The UK Independence Party takes this opportunity to affirm that it is opposed to discrimination on all grounds as prescribed by law and otherwise. The Party acknowledges the principles of non-discrimination, non-racism and non-sectarianism in its Constitution, and holds those principles dear as a libertarian party".

And here is the proof that Bloom has betrayed UKIP:

European Alliance for Freedom

About EAF

The European Alliance for Freedom (EAF) is a pan-European alliance of Members of the European Parliament, together with national and regional parliamentarians and parties, united under a political platform calling for national freedom and democracy in opposition to centralised, supranational control.

The EAF is one of eleven 'European Political Parties at a European Level' and is partially funded by the European Parliament.

Concerned with issues of freedom and democracy in the EU, the EAF does not operate within the Left-Right political paradigm and its members come from across a wide political spectrum. At the national level, therefore, EAF members do not necessarily subscribe to the politics and beliefs of other members of the Alliance. Members come from Austria, Flanders (Belgium), Germany, Lithuania, Sweden and the UK.

The mission of the EAF is to inform the EU publics of the importance of national and regional parliamentary democracy in order to safeguard genuine international cooperation among free European nation states, and to make the peoples of Europe aware of the dangers of supranational power to the freedom of nations and their constitutional democracies.

Board Members: Godfrey Bloom MEP - UK, Philip Claeys MEP - Flanders (Belgium), Kent Ekeroth MP - Sweden,
Franz Obermayr MEP - Austria, Torsten Groß - Germany
Secretary General: Sharon Ellul-Bonici
Registered Office: 27, Grognet Street, Mosta MST3613, MALTA
Brussels Offices: Rue Pascal 16, 1040 Brussels, BELGIUM;
Tel. +32 497 890603 email: europeanallianceforfreedom@gmail.com

To read the original: LINK
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UKIP: Derek Clark's hypocrisy

Derek Clark is such a hypocrite! He has the gall the complain about Bannerman's 'gross betrayal' in a recent article (see below) but what about his own 'gross betrayal' of UKIP when he went to Bucharest in 2007 - at the behest of Farage - and signed a declaration espousing the principle of "subsidiarity". Prior to this UKIP has always been in favour of total withdrawal from the EU. By accepting the principle of subsidiarity UKIP was now accepting the authority of the union to take decisions which are not devolved to national or regional government.

At the same time Clark also signed up to the principle of "reforming" the Common Agricultural Policy, something which UKIP had previously refused to recognise at all.

Here is an internal memo (2007) sent by Roger Knapman to his fellow MEPs. It concerns Clark's betrayal.

Memo to UKIP MEPs

I am afraid I cannot in any way allow myself to be associated with the joint declaration with the Romanian Party PIN.

I hope you will agree with me.

The declaration contains statements with which we should not possibly agree and which are against the principles upon which we were elected.

May I draw your attention in particular to paragraphs 3 and 6. We are not in favour of the EU concept of subsidiarity which presupposes basic authority is centralised at EU level; we are certainly not in favour of the CAP and farming subsidies.

I am uneasy about paragraph 8 which implies that sovereignty is negotiable in areas other than fiscal policy. Paragraph 7 is vacuous and its meaning unclear.

We should not allow UKIP to be linked with this dubious initiative under any circumstances. Nor should we become involved in internal elections in other countries.

I also hope no UKIP MEP will become involved in the junket in Romania. We agreed in the group at the beginning of this Parliament that we would not allow ourselves to be seduced into the free international trips circuit. We should stick to our resolve. Nothing is to be gained by slap up dinners in Bucharest or bus tours round the countryside.

There is merit in us being part of a loose grouping, but with minimal policies in view of our unique position as withdrawalists. Group and bureau meetings should therefore be limited in nature and take place in Brussels or Strasbourg or we are bound to face justifiable criticism for “going native.”

Roger

Gerard Batten also spoke out against Clark’s betrayal:

From: gerard.batten@btinternet.com

To: alanbown@btinternet.com; bryanukip1@aol.com; davidfabbott@btinternet.com; partychairman@ukip.org; del1young@yahoo.co.uk; douglas.denny@btopenworld.com; emb@westanstey.fsnet.co.uk; gerard.batten@btinternet.com; percyguest@onetel.com; mazukerman@bensonmazure.co.uk; ukipse@ukip.org; rjoxley@lineone.net; dclark@ukip.org; ukipse1@keme.co.uk; gbloom@ukip.org; mrgrahambooth@aol.com; jtitford@ukip.org; jwhittaker@ukip.org; mikenattrass@hotmail.com; rknapman@ukip.org; tomwise@ukip.org

Subject: FW: Message from RogerDate: Wed, 16 May 2007 13:17:01 +0100

Dear All,

IN STRICTEST CONFIDENCE TO UKIP NEC MEMBERS AND MEPS ONLY. I have just received a copy of this letter from Roger to the NEC. I agree with its contents.

Regards,
Gerard

And let us not forget another 'gross betrayal'. Clark lied to UKIPPERS in the East Midlands when he stated that he was not under investigation by OLAF . So when is Clark going to come clean about the OUTCOME of the investigation?

And why is Clark more than happy to welcome Tory councillors who have defected to UKIP when he clearly regards Bannerman's defection to the Tories as a betrayal of the voters? You can't have it both ways! More double standards.

From Click Press:

Bannerman’s defection a gross betrayal

The defection of David Campbell Bannerman to the Conservative Party has been labelled a “wretched defection” by UKIP MEP Derek Clark.

The defection of David Campbell Bannerman to the Conservative Party has been labelled a “wretched defection” by UKIP MEP Derek Clark.

Mr Clark, MEP for the East Midlands, joined leading UKIP figures in slamming the decision, saying it betrayed the party and voters in the Eastern region who voted for Mr Campbell Bannerman.

And Mr Clark pointed to interviews given by Mr Campbell Bannerman only last year when he claimed the Prime Minister could not be trusted on Europe.

He said: “Mr Campbell Bannerman's defection is a gross betrayal of UKIP.

“He has betrayed those on the party list in the Eastern region who did not get elected because he was top of the list.

“He has betrayed the officers and members in that region who worked so hard to get him elected.

“And worst of all, he has betrayed those who voted UKIP, thinking they were getting a real opponent of our EU membership. The electorate will take note and Eastern region members will have to work even harder to overcome this handicap next time round.”

Mr Clark said: “In 2010, Campbell-Bannerman wrote a trenchant criticism of David Cameron and the Conservatives in the UK, accusing them of hypocrisy.”

In the interview, Mr Campbell Bannerman said: "Over the years observers in Brussels have learned first-hand how the Conservatives talk ‘Eurosceptic’ at home but behave quite differently when they arrive in the Belgian capital to carry out their parliamentary work.”

He added: It's overwhelmingly clear now that trusting Cameron with Europe will be as misguided as trusting Blair on Iraq."

Mr Campbell Bannerman even said the British people faced higher prices all because the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition did not have the stomach to either get the country’s rebate back or suspend EU payments until it had its accounts signed off, adding, “it's like Blair never left.”

Mr Clark added, that as an MEP, the party’s position was weakened by what he called Campbell Bannerman’s “selfish actions”.

He said: “Having started with 13 MEPs we took the lead in forming the EFD group, which enables the party leader to speak for the group.

“This privilege means that, in important debates, our UKIP leader is in the first round to address Parliament, after Jose Manuel Barosso and/ or Herman Van Rompuy who often then withdraw, leaving it to ‘other speakers’.

Mr Clark offered his total support to the party in the Eastern region and pledged he would continue to work for UKIP, both in Brussels and elsewhere.

He said: “I condemn this wretched defection but it makes no difference to whatever efforts I am able to make in the name of UKIP.

To read the original: LINK