UKIP: Lord Pearson in The Telegraph

Taken from The Telegraph:

The new leader of the UK Independence Party, Lord Pearson, claimed more than £100,000 in publicly-funded expenses on the basis that his £3.7 million house in London was his second home while also owning in a 12,000-acre estate with servants in Scotland.

By Jon Swaine

Lord Pearson of Rannoch, a businessman and peer who warned that the MPs' expenses scandal exposed a “growing gulf between the political class and the British people” was last week elected leader of Ukip.

He has sat in the Lords since 1990. Since 2001, the earliest year for which expenses records are available, he has told the Parliamentary authorities that his estate beside Loch Rannoch, Perthshire, is his “main home”.

This enabled him to claim about £100,000 in taxpayer-funded overnight subsistence allowances between April 2001 and June 2007 for staying at his town house in Victoria, one mile away from Parliament in central London, where he had no mortgage to pay.

Peers can claim £174 a night – with no receipts required – to cover the cost of staying at a second home or hotel room in the capital “for the purpose of attending sittings of the House”.

After selling the flat for £3.7 million In June 2007, Lord Pearson moved to another London flat two miles away in Kennington. He paid £1.2 million for the flat, again without a mortgage. He then claimed another £15,000 in allowances on the basis of his overnight stays there.

Lord Pearson has repeatedly declared in official company documents that his London home was his “usual residential address”.

His London house was also given as the address to which applicants wishing to work as a housekeeper or gardener at the Scottish estate should send their CVs, in an advert placed by Lady Pearson in The Scottish Farmer in January this year.

Lords rules state: “Members whose main residence is within Greater London cannot claim night subsistence.”

As well as claiming £115,683 for overnight subsistence, since 2001 Lord Pearson has claimed £56,685 in “day subsistence” allowances. Peers can claim £86.50 a day for meals, drinks and taxis while working in Westminster, with no need for receipts.

The peer – who was paid £40,000 a year for his remaining City work until being elected Ukip leader – also claimed £48,471 in travel expenses – including £10,064 for the cost of flying between Scotland and London in the last two recorded years alone.

Lord Pearson told the Daily Telegraph yesterday that rather than gaining from the allowances system, he had been “impoverished” by his political career. “Working in the Lords has cost me millions,” he said.

“I had to take a substantial cut in my city earnings … from memory I have given up about £200,000 per annum since 1990.”

He said: “My (main) home is in Scotland. I spend almost exactly half the year there.” He said he had cited the London home as his “usual” address in company documents “for convenience” in dealing with business correspondence.

Lord Pearson, 67, made his fortune from Pearson Webb Springbett, the insurance brokers he co-founded in 1964. He was chairman when it was sold to the THB Group in January last year for a multi-million pound sum.

Speaking in the Lords in July about what he called the “parliamentary expenses saga,” Lord Pearson said that he had long been “trying to warn of the growing gulf between us, the political class, and the British people.”

He said that the expenses scandal had “done nothing to endear the people to their political class.”

In a newspaper interview on Saturday he said Parliament had become “irrelevant”. “We should think about abolishing the House of Lords,” he added. “We in Ukip are anti the political class.”

To view the original: LINK

Also see: LINK

Well at least we know where the money went!

Farage claimed £2 million in expenses and still refuses publish the details!

UKIP in crisis: Batten & Sinclaire slam Farage and Pearson over proposed Tory deal

And so it begins. The start of the big split?

But that is what happens when you go behind the backs of half your MEPs, the NEC and the bulk of the membership.

From The Times:

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) faces a "wave of resignations" amid grassroots fury that the anti-EU party's new leader offered to stand down candidates at the next election and disband if the Conservatives agreed to hold a referendum on EU membership.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch, winner of the ballot to replace Nigel Farage, faces a rocky start to his leadership after The Times revealed on Saturday that he proposed a deal to the Tory leader in the Lords that would have seen UKIP abandon plans to stand at the general election.

Gerard Batten, the London MEP who was runner-up for the leadership, said he was appalled by the secret plan and said that members would not have chosen Lord Pearson if they had known the full truth during the contest.

Nikki Sinclaire, MEP, who came third for the leadership, said that she was being called by angry members threatening to resign but directed her anger at Mr Farage for asking Lord Pearson to make the approach to Lord Strathclyde.

The row threatens to overshadow UKIP's plans to reach out to disaffected Labour voters by switching its focus to include campaigning against radical Islam.

"I am appalled they can offer to sell the party down the river to the Tories — it is a betrayal of the members and we will probably see a wave of resignations over this," Mr Batten said yesterday.

"If he had run in the leadership election telling people that is what he had done, he would have come bottom. The membership do not want it and it has caused outrage.

"I have been saying all along we have not just got to talk to the Tory voters but also the Labour voters who are not going to vote Labour any more. This makes it much more difficult.

"Having a Lord as leader of the party who is trying to do deals with the Tories is going to make it that much harder to win the disenchanted working class votes."

Ms Sinclaire said:"I do not see what legitimacy Nigel had to make such a deal. A lot of members feel very cheated judging by the amount of phone calls I have received.

"Ultimately the members should have been consulted to have negotiations with any party, it should have gone to a referendum among the membership. People have contacted me talking about resigning."

But she added that she still supported Lord Pearson as leader, saying: "He was the messenger and we should not shoot the messenger."

UKIP is planning to put up the boxing promoter Frank Maloney as its candidate in Barking to take on Nick Griffin in the general election, The Times understands.

Mr Maloney, who stood for UKIP as London Mayor in 2004, will be a controversial choice because of his homophobic remarks during the mayoral campaign, when he said: "I don't want to campaign around gays...I don't think they do a lot for society."

End of article.

To view the original: LINK

UKIP: Lord Pearson's company in bribery claim

Not a good start for Lord Pearson. He has only been leader for a couple of days and already the media are turning their sights on him.

An old story resurrected by the Guardian for obvious reasons:

The insurance business that made the fortune of the new leader of the UK Independence party (Ukip) is embroiled in an international bribery scandal that could lead to criminal charges in the UK, according to documents obtained by the Observer.

A detailed indictment served in Costa Rica this month alleges that a subsidiary of PWS, the insurance brokers which Lord Pearson of Rannoch founded and chaired, grossly overcharged the small central American state for its insurance premiums.

The Serious Fraud Office is investigating, and has arrested a number of PWS executives for questioning.

But the company itself will face no penalty if the prosecution succeeds; it has been disposed of to another insurance broker since the scandal broke, and the rump of PWS which holds the liability for any fine or penalty is in liquidation and without funds.

PWS is alleged to have paid bribes of more than $700,000 (£426,000) into a bank account linked to the then Costa Rican president, Angel Rodríguez, and provided a $1.6m slush fund for workers of the state insurance company.

Friends of Malcolm Pearson, the Thatcherite peer elected on Friday as the leader of the anti-European and anti-Cameron Ukip, said he knew "absolutely nothing about the alleged payments".

The indictment alleges that Pearson himself, as company chairman, was warned of the existence of the slush fund by a new Costa Rican regime which was probing corruption allegations as long ago as September 2005. The friends said he had never received the letter from the Costa Rican authorities. It had been diverted from his attention by others in the firm he chaired. One said: "He was contacted by the British ambassador in May 2006, which was the first he knew of it."

According to his friends, the City law firm Freshfields was subsequently called in, and the chief executive of PWS, Julian Messent, resigned, following the visit to Pearson of a delegation from the Costa Rican authorities.

Minutes of the Pearson meeting published in Costa Rica say that, during those negotiations, he offered to co-operate with the central American prosecutors, if no action was taken against the PWS company. He suggested PWS might return any money if the claims were substantiated.

Following complaints of inaction, however, the SFO was called in in 2007. It made arrests, and obtained banking information, which was sent to Costa Rica in August. Pearson said he had been interviewed by police and expected to be a witness if any UK charges were brought.

He added: "It is very regrettable that something like this should happen. But in 1997 when this started, it was regarded as perfectly normal. Under that regime, all the other insurance brokers were doing exactly the same thing."

Julian Messent said he was unable to comment as the inquiry was still in progress. Pearson, an old Etonian, was made Lord Pearson of Rannoch, where he has a Scottish estate, by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. He and two others working in his father's insurance business founded PWS when he was 22.

To view the original: LINK

Also see: LINK

UKIP offered to disband. Lord Pearson confirms proposed deal with the Tories

We told you so.

Remember this from June?

http://juniusonukip.blogspot.com/2009/06/ukip-is-just-another-tory-pressure.html

We revealed that Farage wanted to do a deal with the Tories and thus betray the membership of UKIP. He didn't even bother to consult the membership or even all of his MEPs before making the offer!

We were attacked for spreading lies.

But Lord Pearson now confirms it.

Taken from The Times:

Cameron rejected UKIP pact on EU referendum

Alice Thomson, Rachel Sylvester Suzy Jagger and David Charter

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: did not hear back from David Cameron

The UK Independence Party offered to disband if David Cameron agreed to hold a referendum on the ratified Lisbon treaty.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch, UKIP’s newly elected leader, says in an interview with The Times today that he proposed the deal after the party’s strong showing in the European elections.

He reveals that he approached Lord Strathclyde, the Tory leader in the Lords, six months ago and asked him to tell Mr Cameron that if he guaranteed a referendum and gave the Conservative Party a free vote then UKIP would disband and its members stand down. He received no answer. Several months later Mr Cameron announced that the Tories would not hold a referendum.

Lord Pearson adds: “A referendum on a ratified Lisbon Treaty would have become about in or out, which is why the political class wouldn’t do it.”

Lord Pearson says that he was acting on behalf of his predecessor, Nigel Farage, when the overture was made.

Last night Mr Farage confirmed that the meeting took place with his blessing, although he argued that the offer was to withdraw the party from the general election rather than to disband. Lord Strathclyde also confirmed that the meeting took place.

“We made that offer but we didn’t get an answer,” Lord Pearson said. “I’m so angry with them now.”

UKIP — which has no MPs in Westminster but has 13 MEPs — wants to pull Britain out of the European Union, boost the UK’s defence budget by 40 per cent and bring back grammar schools.

Speaking after yesterday’s result, the peer, who hopes to cost the Tories at least 50 seats, said: “My ambition is for UKIP to do well enough at the next general election so that we can force a hung parliament and a realignment in British politics.”

Mark Francois, the Shadow Minister of State for Europe, said: “We don’t make policy on the basis of secret deals with other parties. We decide our policies on the basis on what is right for the country. As we have said, a made-up referendum after ratification would be pointless.”

UKIP is understood to be preparing to try to re-focus its appeal by attacking Islamic fundamentalism in an attempt to shore up its right flank against the BNP. It is planning to put a heavyweight candidate up in Barking to take on Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, in the next general election campaign and prevent him from claiming a Westminster seat.

The favourite for the UKIP nomination is Paul Wiffen, the party chairman in London.

Lord Pearson takes over immediately as party leader from Mr Farage, who had said that he wanted to stand down to fight the seat of the Commons Speaker, John Bercow.

The party intends to field 550 candidates in next year’s general election, many of whom will pay their own campaign costs. Mr Farage — who had spearheaded the party’s fundraising efforts, estimates that UKIP needs £1.5 million to fund an adequate election campaign, but about £4 million to compete properly against the bigger parties.

And taken from The BBC:

The UK Independence Party says it offered not to fight the next general election if the Conservatives agreed to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

New UKIP leader Lord Pearson of Rannoch told the Times he offered a deal after its strong European elections showing.

He told the BBC he thought a referendum would have gone against the treaty - meaning Britain would have effectively left the EU and UKIP could disband.

The Conservatives said any mention of a deal had been rejected "straight away".

Lord Pearson was chosen as UKIP's new leader on Friday, replacing Nigel Farage, who stood down to focus on running for Parliament at the next general election.

'So angry'

The ex-Tory peer told the BBC: "Well, the version in the Times is slightly paraphrased and condensed.

"We offered that if we got a clear, written promise with an agreed wording for a referendum on whether we stayed in or left the European Union... then we would stand down for the general election, providing we had this absolutely clearly in writing.

"And then when we had the referendum - which we believed we would win - we would then be out of the European Union and then at that point UKIP, well it would have been up to UKIP, but it would probably have disbanded because its major point would no longer be in existence."

Lord Pearson said he had taken the proposed deal to Lord Strathclyde, the Conservative leader in the Lords, after UKIP beat Labour into third place in this year's European elections.

He said he was acting on behalf of Mr Farage and told Lord Strathclyde to relay the offer to Tory leader David Cameron.

Lord Pearson told the BBC: "We made this offer to Tom Strathclyde, who was going to see David Cameron two days later. He said I'll talk to David."

However Lord Pearson said in the end he did not get an answer. He told the Times: "I'm so angry with them now."

We don't make policy on the basis of secret deals with other parties

Shadow Europe minister Mark Francois

The Times said both Mr Farage and Lord Strathclyde had confirmed the meeting did take place.

Earlier this month, the Conservatives said ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by the Czech Republic - the last EU country to do so - meant their campaign for a referendum had come to an end.

The decision prompted UKIP, as well as Eurosceptics in Mr Cameron's own party, to accuse him of reneging on a "cast-iron" guarantee made in 2007 to hold a vote.

But Mr Cameron said that to press ahead with a referendum post-ratification would be "simply to have one for the sake of it".

Shadow Europe minister Mark Francois said of Lord Pearson's comments: "We don't make policy on the basis of secret deals with other parties; we decide our policies on the basis of what is right for the country.

"As we have said, a made-up referendum after ratification would be pointless."

Lord Pearson gained nearly half of the approximately 9,900 votes cast by UKIP members in the leadership contest.

Following his victory, he said the Lisbon Treaty was "the last nail in the coffin of our democracy" and his objective at the next election would be to force a hung Parliament and a "realignment" in British politics.

UKIP does not have any MPs but has 13 MEPs and among its key aims is pulling the UK out of the European Union.

To see the originals: LINK & LINK

So now you know the truth. Farage holds UKIP's membership in total contempt.

UKIP leadership election: Lord Pearson wins

Lord Pearson 4,743 votes

Gerard Batten MEP 2,571 votes

Nikki Sinclaire MEP 1,214 votes

Mike Nattrass MEP 1,092 votes

Alan Wood 315 votes

Some 9,900 were cast in all, or roughly 74% of the membership.

A high turnout and a clear endorsement for Lord Pearson. We have been assured that Lord Pearson is not a Farage puppet. We have also been assured that Farage is in for a few shocks. We shall see.

Gerard Batten did better than expected. Tim of the Vote Gerard Batten blog will be pleased. He is already lobbying for Batten to become UKIP chairman!

Nikki Sinclaire did not do as well as many had expected. Farage hates her and she is unhappy about being in the EFD. Her future in UKIP is currently uncertain.

Mike Nattrass. The joke candidate. But at least we know there are at least 1,092 members who are very easily impressed. He intends to sue the Sunday Times for printing an article confirming that he is under investigation by OLAF. The fool. Mike, you can't sue a paper for printing the truth!

Alan Wood. Does not support Lord Pearson's views on Islam. Has said he will leave UKIP if Pearson is elected. We have been told that this is no idle threat.

UKIP News: The leadership election & Dr Edmond on Paul Nuttall

The leadership election

Tomorrow we will know the result. It is very likely to be Lord Pearson. But will he be willing to reform the party and put Farage firmly in his place?

Mike Nattrass was always the joke candidate. The fool deserves to come last.

Gerard Batten is a coward. Time and time again he has ignored corruption in UKIP for the sake of his career as an MEP.

The Junius team feel that Nikki Sinclaire and Alan Wood are the best candidates.

We wish them well in their bid to become leader of UKIP.

Paul Nuttall

The odious Paul Nuttall is apparently determined to go down in history as UKIP‘s foremost idiot.

This title had been held by Mike Nattrass. We hope that he won’t be too upset losing his crown to UKIP's very own wannabee Mussolini.

Here is an extract from Dr Edmond’s blog:

I was going to write about another Nuttall gaffe on the 5 pm radio 4 programme last night querying the inspection frequency of Cumbria bridges. An incredulous engineer and interviewer explained in words of one syllable to Nuttall that the inspection frequency of two years was the recommended one and had nothing to do with the disaster. That was caused by extraordinary water flows. Nuttall then went on that a lot of these failed bridges were very old. That makes the engineer's point! These bridges had stood for hundreds of years. It shows how exceptional the conditions were. Some Roman bridges have stood for 2000 years. Nuttall gets the wrong end of the stick yet again. Old bridges were built stronger and more durably than modern bridges. Look at Brunel's GWR bridges. Nuttall is supposed to have a history degree. Some degree that must be!

End of extract.

To see the original: LINK

Dr Edmond was thrown off UKIP's NEC for raising concerns about UKIP corruption. Freedom of speech is not an option in Farage's UKIP!

So where did Nuttall get his history degree? Toys R Us?

UKIP: Nigel Farage showing the strain

More than one associate of Nigel Farage has commented on how strained he looks. His 'frog' eyes look bloodshot, his hair is greying fast, he breaks out in sweats, and his skin is pale. He is drinking heavily - very close to becoming an alcoholic - and even his paranoia is getting worse.

He was furious that Gerard Batten was featured on the front page of the Express. He was even less happy with the coverage given to Batten after he exposed Neil Kinnock’s secret talks with the Soviets during the Cold War. And don't even mention Baroness Ashton and the CND. Batten beat him to that as well.

And allowing yourself to be photographed holding a little UK flag while under the influence is rather silly. Nigel, you never know where that photo may turn up!

So what could be causing NF's current health problems?

Could it be the OLAF investigation into UKIP’s MEPs and their paid staff? It's hotting up!

Could it be his current marital problems?

Could it be that his latest mistress wants more than just a fling?

Annabelle Fuller did and look what happened to her! Annabelle, we hope the scars have healed.

Could it be that more than one UKIP MEP is threatening to leave the EFD?

Could it be the problems over UKIP becoming a pan-European party? Several of his fellow MEPs are not happy!

Could it be his recent rows with Batten and Colman?

Could it be the worry that Lord Pearson will not be as compliant as Farage hoped?

Could it be the rumour that a national newspaper has certain compromising photos? These photos are said to feature a prominent member of UKIP.

We at Junius really do hate to see Nigel suffer so. So why not resign before it is too late?

Nigel, standing as an anti-sleaze candidate in Buckinghamshire is just plain silly. Calling yourself anti-sleaze is like the Pope calling himself a muslim.

Give it up or face further exposure in the media.

UKIP Scandal: Farage disgraces the veterans.

Nigel Farage often seems to be modelling himself on the Micheal Caine character in the classic movie "Zulu"..... He is often to be found, after a few G&Ts, muttering "I say, dear boy..." delivered in what can only be described as an "effete" manner.

How Farage would love to be an upper class officer type....

But he never served. Farage was never made of the "right stuff". He tries to make up for it by putting on an accent, and referring to "my father's regiment..." at every opportunity. Well, actually, Farage senior never actually served as a regular either, he spent a bit a time in the TA where, and this is delicious, he served under Petrina Holdsworth's husband.

But Farage loves to come the old soldier nevertheless.

We all know about the guy who who laid a wreath on Nov 11th in UKIP's name, and embarrassed us all, but it seems that Farage actually went one better...

There is a quiet corner of Brussels where there is a memorial to the Belgian Resistance. Traditionally a few UKIP types have gathered there, but now Farage has muscled in to take over the event, and this year he turned up to preside over proceedings as only he can "I say, dear boy, ha ha, my father's regiment, look at the arse on that, old chap, dear boy..."

So there they were on Nov 11th.... Farage, Bloom, Nuttall, Griffin, Brons, and an assortment of UKIP and BNP staff...

You thought you had got away with that one, didn't you Farage?

Every step you take, every move you make, we'll be watching you.

UKIP: Paul Nuttall continues to make a fool of himself

We really pity the people of the North West.

To have the odious Paul Nuttall representing you is nothing short of a tragedy.

Nuttall is nothing more than a grubby Mussolini clone without a single shred of decency or honesty.

His recent desperate attempts for publicity are laughable.

He has attacked Sir Paul McCartney’s support for vegetarianism. Clearly he doesn’t care about the green vote or even those UKIPPERS who may be vegetarian.

He bemoans the fact that under proportional representation the BNP gained a seat in the North West.

Has he already forgotten that without PR he would never have been elected to the EU Gravy Train? One rule for him and one rule for the BNP?

But at least we know that he doesn’t believe in democracy and the right of the electorate to vote for the party of their choice.

Look at his recent track record:

He was Party Chairman during a disastrous period for the party. A period of unrest where UKIP lost both the treasurer and leader.

He fabricated complaints against Gregg Beaman.

He supported Farage’s attempts to give him dictatorial powers to remove so-called dissidents from the party.

He supports the suppression of free speech in UKIP.

He supported the removal of democratically elected members - Dr Eric Edmond and Dr David Abbott - from UKIP’s NEC. Their only crime was to raise concerns about corruption in UKIP.

He agreed to be appointed UKIP national chairman in total disregard of the membership who were not even consulted about his appointment.

He colluded in the rigging of UKIP's MEP selection process. Piers Merchant - UKIP's Returning Officer - gave him a copy of his report on the MEP selection process. In this report it was clearly stated that the process had been corrupted. Nuttall ignored it.

In Brussels and Strasbourg he is happy to sit with fascists and racists and yet he has the nerve to attack the BNP!

And he supports kangaroo courts and witch-hunts conducted against all those members who dare to question Farage’s leadership.

The man is truly contemptible. He has no scruples, integrity or decency. He will do anything to get the top of the greasy pole and stay there. He would readily stab his own colleagues in the back for personal gain.

And he can’t even be honest about the reasons behind his decision to resign as Party Chairman.

He did not resign in order to spend more time campaigning in the North West or to give the new leader the freedom to choose a new chairman.

He resigned because the Farage/Nuttall partnership in corruption was falling apart.

And he wonders why people don't trust him!
　

UKIP: Stuart Wheeler makes a fool of himself

From UKIP’s official website:

A major donor to the UK Independence Party has hit out at the Electoral Commission over its decision to push UKIP for the return of a £360,000 donation while allowing the Lib Dems to keep £2.4 million given to them by a criminal now on the run.

Former Tory donor and spread betting millionaire Stuart Wheeler, who donated £100,000 to UKIP before the European elections said today: "I am not a member of UKIP but I do support them and this does not seem right.

"The Electoral Commission has now said it does not intend to take proceedings against the Liberal Democrats for the recovery of gifts totalling about £2.4 million pounds given to them by a company controlled by Michael Brown, a man who was not a permissible donor and who is now on the run, having been sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

"It is clear that the donation came from abroad and was therefore entirely against the spirit of the relevant legislation.

"But the Commission has decided to pursue UKIP for recovery of a donation given by somebody who could easily have made the donation through a permissible company and who would have been a permissible donor but for a purely technical slip which is acknowledged by the court to have been entirely inadvertent."

End of extract.

On what planet is Mr Wheeler living on? And why does he allow Farage to feed him such rubbish?

It was not a technical slip acknowledged by the court. UKIP made 67 false entries despite numerous warnings from the Electoral Commission.

And let us not forget that Andrew Smith - UKIP treasurer at the time - advised misleading Elcom.

Here is the email in question:

From: "Smith Epping" To: "Geoffrey Kingscott" Cc: "Nigel Farage (UKIP)" ; "Douglas Denny"

Subject: Treasurers meeting

Thank you Geoffrey for organising the meeting. We need to give the Electoral Commission every reason to believe we are serious about compliance, in order to provide the next Party Treasurer with a good story to tell when we next fail to meet the statutory requirements.

They should be invited to any big regional meeting and to Party Conference to speak at least to a break-out meeting to Treasurers.

It would have been a suitable event for prospective Party Treasurers to learn a lot about what the job entailed. Were any of them there?

I thought the practical points which emerged, in the absence of the Electoral Commission, were a lesson for the NEC on what their priorities should be. The branches are crying out for better admin and they are full of good ideas.

I hope the NEC takes good notice of your report of the meeting.

AS

End of email

'Inadvertent' it was not.

We would strongly advise Mr Wheeler to distance himself from such people.

To defend their lies and stupidity will only taint him in the long run.

Lord Pearson gets some media attention

Anti-EU peer given Brussels grant

An arch Eurosceptic peer who believes that European Union subsidies are a "vast swindle" is financing replanting on his huge Scottish estate with grants from Brussels.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch, the independent Conservative peer who was expelled from the Tories by Michael Howard for backing the rival United Kingdom Independence Party, has tabled bills in the House of Lords demanding Britain's immediate withdrawal from the European Union.

He is also co-founder of the Global Britain thinktank which agitates against an "increasingly anachronistic" EU.

Last weekend he wrote in a pamphlet published by the independent thinktank Civitas that the EU was a "corrupt octopus" and was a success "only for those who make money out of it".

The 63-year-old peer called the EU system of grants and subsidies to farmers a "whole vast swindle" and said Britons were forced to pay "higher taxes" ... "to keep EU farmers in the style to which they have become accustomed".

He added that the United Kingdom gives the EU some £11bn a year:

"Of this, they have been good enough to send back to us an average of some £7bn, always for projects which are designed to enhance their wretched image (including the Common Agricultural Policy)".

One of the projects now being funded with EU money is Sword Loch 3, a 300-acre forest on Lord Pearson's estate in Perthshire. According to the Forestry Commission, the official body responsible for protecting Britain's trees, this is one of a number of grants that it has given to Lord Pearson.

The latest £95,000 grant will be used to replant an old Caledonian pine forest, an ancient Scottish species which has been threatened with extinction.

"Half the money will come from the European Union," said a Forestry Commission spokesman.

Asked if Lord Pearson would know if it came from the EU, the spokesman said:

"He would have applied to the Forestry Commission and might not be aware of it. However our literature does make it clear that part of the money for grants does come from the European Union".

Lord Pearson did not comment when contacted by the Guardian. Details of the grant were released under the Freedom of Information Act.

For some years, Lord Pearson has claimed that the BBC is institutionally biased in favour of the European Union, a point he sought to prove by publishing a report analysing the amount of time given to pro- and anti-EU speakers.

Lord Pearson loyally stood by his old Eton schoolfriend, Jonathan Aitken, after the former Tory minister perjured himself in his libel action over his links with the Saudis.

The peer is chairman of an insurance company and a supporter of the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance, serving as chairman of its deerstalking committee.

End of article. To see the original: LINK

Some would say that criticising the EU and yet accepting their grants is somewhat hypocritical.

Meet the Junius Team: David Bannerman

David Fido Bannerman - pictured above - has been a member of the Junius Team for a year.

Our David Bannerman is unique as he has never claimed to be related to a British prime minister. Unlike the other Bannerman he also makes a point of not going to certain 'clubs' in Brussels or Strasbourg.

He joined the team after Nigel Farage made an attempt to sneak into our office and steal a stapler. We understand Nigel wanted it for a bizarre sex game involving Annabelle Fuller and a tub of clotted cream.

David guarantees that any future attempt to enter our office will result in 'terminal action' being taken against the intruder.

Paul Nuttall, you have been warned!

UKIP & the OLAF investigation: Further updates!

Another interesting document has fallen into Junius' collective hands... The administration in Brussels is leaking like a sieve, it seems. This should particularly worry the party, as it might have a bearing on the present OLAF investigation into Mike Nattrass and others over the employment of UKIP party officials on parliament contracts - this is all highly illegal.

Dated July 2003, this latest newly unearthed document names Steve Harris, Malcolm Wood, Tom Wise, Jim Carver, Gerry Kelly, Paul Gilbert and Heather Bennet as being on EP contracts. They are all given the job title "Regional Organiser".

Chris Jones, also on a parliament contract, is listed as "UKIP press relations". Again, this is illegal. Unfortunately, one of the new intake of MEPs, Nikki Sinclaire, is also named, as an official of "NEC HQ Office", although it is unclear as to wether she was paid by the parliament. If so, she will surely be added to OLAF's ever growing list of suspects.

One amusing little detail is the presence on the list of a name that most UKIP members will be unfamiliar with, that of Ditte Staun.

Ditte was a pretty little Danish girl who worked in the parliament some years ago. She was also "romantically linked" to Farage. It is interesting to note that she was paid through the UKIP budget line, and not that of Jens Peter Bonde, as was assumed at the time. She was sent home to Denmark after the Sun newspaper learned a little bit more about the relationship than Farage would have liked.

UKIP leadership election: Farage does it yet again!

At the hustings in Birmingham Lord Pearson told members that he was “deeply embarrassed" by Farage’s outburst on the Daily Politics Show. See: LINK

He also claimed to have given Farage “a rocket” and went on to assure them that he did not share Nigel’s assessment of the other candidates.

The 50 or so members who bothered to attend seemed satisfied with this.

All very good. But then we find this posted on the UKIP members only forum:

I have spoken to Nigel today with regards to his remarks made on the Politics Show, I am posting this thread today with his authorisation -

Nigel made the remarks on the show as he had become increasingly concerned after speaking to UKIPs 3 major donors.

All three donors voiced there opinions VERY strongly to Nigel with regards to the Leadership Race and all three advised him that the only credible candidate in THEIR opinion was Lord Pearson.

Without their financial support Nigel feels there would be very serious implications for UKIP. Please take a moment to think seriously, that if we are to continue fighting we need our financial donors to stay with us, if Lord Pearson does not win this Leadership Race our backers feel we may lose our credability
as Political Party.

End of article. As it is so badly written we can assume Malcolm Wood wrote it - Malcolm is the RO for the South West and is currently helping Lord Pearson in his campaign to succeed Farage.

So far from regretting his outburst Farage decides to have yet another dig at Nattrass, Batten, Sinclaire and Wood!

So once again Farage breaks all the rules:

CAMPAIGNING. Candidates and their supporters shall conduct campaigning activities in a friendly and constructive manner, and in accordance with the Party Constitution. In the case of a serious breach, the Returning Officer may disqualify the candidate from the election. No candidate may make unauthorised use of the Party membership lists. The National Executive Committee will endeavour to arrange a series of hustings at which all candidates will be invited to appear.

So will Lord Pearson be having another word with Nigel or does he agree with the statement as posted on the UKIP Forum?

We at Junius can confirm that numerous complaints have been made to the Returning Officer over Farage’s attempts to rig the election in favour of his chosen candidate.

But as Zuckerman is a card carrying Farage sycophant we don’t expect any action.

Also see: LINK

UKIP in crisis: Mike Nattrass in The Sunday Times

Readers of this blog will know that Mike Nattrass is currently under investigation by OLAF. See: LINK

This appeared in today's Sunday Times:

UKIP MEP Michael Nattrass in expenses fraud inquiry

Daniel Foggo

An MEP for the United Kingdom Independence party is being investigated by the European Union’s anti-fraud watchdog over his use of expenses.

Michael Nattrass, who has represented the West Midlands in the European parliament since 2004, is the subject of an inquiry into whether Denis Brookes, one of his former aides, was paid through public funds while he was working as a regional organiser for UKIP. The EU does not allow taxpayers’ money to be used to pay party officials.

The inquiry into Nattrass, which is part of a wider investigation into UKIP’s finances, comes as one of its former MEPs, Tom Wise, was jailed last week for two years for embezzling funds out of his assistant’s allowance.

It has also emerged that Nattrass was using a company of which he was a shareholding partner as the “paying agent” for all his assistants’ salaries provided by the EU.

Between 2004 and summer this year, all of his assistants’ allowances were channelled through the company account of Nattrass Giles, a chartered surveyors in Birmingham which he founded nearly 30 years ago.

Nattrass was a signatory to the bank account, although he insisted last night that the administration was handled by another partner in the firm who has since died.

MEPs must not act as their own paying agents. The role can only be performed by “third parties”.

New rules brought in since July this year have further tightened the controls and MEPs can now only use accredited people or companies as paying agents.

Nattrass said he had been told by EU officials that he could use his Birmingham company.

He also insisted that Brookes had worked for him in his capacity as an MEP until his employment as an aide came to an end three years ago.

End of article.

To see the original: LINK

You may be interested to know that during a meeting in Brussels it was decided that any UKIP MEP under investigation by OLAF could not stand as a candidate in elections, OR HOLD ANY OFFICE IN THE PARTY.

Mike Nattrass was at this meeting. So when is he going to withdraw from the leadership race?

Please be assured that OLAF’s investigation into UKIP’s activities will continue.

Several UKIP MEPs - including Nigel Farage - are currently under investigation. You can expect many more shocks to come!

Still think that UKIP is worth a SINGLE vote under the current leadership?

UKIP: Mike Nattrass, Derek Bennett & OLAF

We at Junius sincerely hope that Derek Bennett enjoyed his recent chat with OLAF - the EU's anti-fraud office.

Derek Bennett is UKIP's Regional Organiser in the West Midlands.

We understand this chat concerned Mike Nattrass and his finances.

As you may recall Mike is under investigation by OLAF - enquiry Number OF/2009/0487

As Derek is UKIP's unofficial photographer can we expect to see photographs of his OLAF interview published on his blog or website?

And would he also like to comment on the rumour that Mike is thinking of standing down as a UKIP MEP?

Junius would also advise UKIPPERS to have a look in tomorrow's Sunday Times. You may find it of interest.

UKIP leadership election: Batten slams Farage over insults

Farage is clearly losing the plot. What was he on when this photo was taken?

Taken from the BBC News website

Outgoing UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has been accused of "insulting" party members by saying he has only one "credible" successor.

Mr Farage, who is standing down to fight a seat at the UK election, said party treasurer Lord Pearson was "head and shoulders" above other candidates.

But fellow candidate Gerard Batten said Mr Farage was trying to "unduly influence" the leadership poll.

There are five candidates in the race, with the outcome due next month.

Leadership ballot papers were sent to UKIP members earlier this month and they have until 26 November to vote.

The other hopefuls are MEPs Mike Nattrass and Nikki Sinclaire as well as Alan Wood, a councillor from Wiltshire.

Mr Farage, who is standing against Commons Speaker John Bercow at the election, told the BBC's Daily Politics on Wednesday that he was backing Lord Pearson as the only "serious, credible" candidate to succeed him.

Mr Farage, who is remaining as UKIP's leader in the European Parliament, said any other winner would make UKIP's future situation difficult.

"If Lord Pearson gets that job and I'm leading the party in the European Parliament, then I would argue that UKIP is stronger and will be for several years to come," he said.

"If it's not Lord Pearson, things will be tricky. But I think it will be Lord Pearson. He is head and shoulders above the others."

Complaint

Mr Batten said he would make a formal complaint to party officials about Mr Farage's comments.

"Nigel's remarks are an attempt to unduly influence the campaign and an insult to the other candidates and our members," he said.

"He has created an unnecessary problem for the new leader if that is someone other than Lord Pearson by saying that they they are not a serious, credible leader in
advance."

Mr Batten, who was re-elected as an MEP in June, said he wanted to take the party "forward" and focus on other issues beyond withdrawal from the European Union.

"I regard myself as a very serious and credible candidate. A lot of UKIP members share that view."

Lord Pearson, a former insurance broker who was ennobled by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1990, was one of two Conservative peers to defect to Mr Farage's party in 2007.

The party, which wants the UK to withdraw from the EU, came second in June's European elections, taking 13 seats.

End of article. To see the original: LINK

And this is taken from the Vote Gerard Batten website:

Get complaining!

Gerard is so angry about what Nigel Farage has said on the Politics Show about the other candidates that he has said members should complain to the Electoral Reform Society.

Here is the address

6 Church St
London
SE1 OUU

Get writing now.

To view the original: LINK

Only a handful of Farage sycophants have had the stupidity to defend Farage.

Here is what Douglas Denny had to say on the British Democracy Forum:

In my opinion his expressing his opinion is still within the rules because 1) he did not actively promote a particular candidate with intent by promulgating his opinion deliberately by e-mail letter or other direct means. 2) he was asked a question directly and therefore answered it honestly and directly. 3) it was not pro-actively campaigning for a particular candidate in the meaning of the rules, he was just expressing an opinion.

End of quote.

So according to DD it is quite acceptable for the outgoing leader to publicly denigrate the other candidates on national television and yet still remain within the rules. Priceless!

We all know that Douglas Denny has never been the sharpest knife in the box but why is he so keen to keep reminding us of this obvious fact?

And who the hell elected him to UKIP’s NEC? Did he vote for himself several hundred times or did the local lunatic asylum suddenly get the vote for the duration of the election?

And let us remind you that this is the same Douglas Denny who was sacked as the Returning Officer for the last leadership election after it emerged he had been actively campaigning for Nigel Farage.

Need we say more?

For more on this: LINK

UKIP: Some questions for Jeffrey Titford

The dust is not settling over the Tom Wise case yet...

Jeffrey Titford was very quick to appear in court to testify against his former friend, employee, and colleague. The UKIP website positively gloated over the two year sentence that the former MEP received. The party referred to a "secret" bank account, and the fact that Wise put money into the account that was intended for a researcher.

And so we find it most interesting that we have in our hands a piece of paper, a "Liste des decomptes" relating to MEPs assistant's payments, dated October 2002. It is a big document, there are lots of MEPs, and lots of money involved, but one entry positively leaps off of the page. It relates to Jeffrey Titford himself.

Jeffrey William Titford, it appears, paid his entire assistant's allowances - all 12,051,98 euros of it - in that month, into the bank account of...... a Mr Thomas Wise!

Over to you, Jeffrey! If Tom is such a crook, can you explain why you are the only MEP on this list paying his entire budget (and 12,051,98 is the absolute maximum allowable) into one person's account, and this person in particular? This man who you deride as a crook? You didn't complain when it was your money being looked after, did you? Interestingly, there is only one other MEP on the list, a Labour MEP, who claimed every last cent, but he paid all of it to his three assistants, who are named on the document.

Care to comment, Jeffrey?

UKIP's Lord Pearson: More of the same?

Personal Statement from Lord Pearson of Rannoch

Although I understood his reasoning, I deeply regretted Nigel’s decision to step down as leader. Sadly my efforts to get him to change his mind, publicly at the conference and privately, have been to no avail.

I had to think long and hard before putting my own name forward to lead UKIP. I knew that were my bid successful, I would be committing to an indefinite period of hard work and would have to forgo directorships and other interests. However I also realised that any sacrifice would be trivial compared to those made by Nigel Farage over nearly two decades. Dauntingly, I would also find myself successor to the most eloquent politician in the land.

The above statement - or should we say love letter - was taken from Lord Pearson’s election address. This sickening display of adulation must cast serious doubt on his fitness to lead UKIP.

Is Lord Pearson so out of touch with the membership that he is totally blind to Farage’s dishonesty and corruption? Where has he been for the last few years?

No mention of the Elcom case, OLAF investigations, a rigged MEP selection process, the expulsion of democratically elected NEC members, attempts to turn UKIP into a dictatorship, Farage's £2 million expenses, employing Mrs Farage despite promises to the contrary, countless resignations, Farage's extra-marital affairs, the John West You Tube video incident, stopping the internal investigation into Tom Wise, etc, etc, etc, etc.

And yet despite all these scandals Pearson still thinks Farage is a wonderful man!

And now let us look at some of the people who support his bid to become leader:

Proposer: NIGEL FARAGE MEP & UKIP LEADER BROMLEY

Seconder: JEFFREY TITFORD EX MEP & EX UKIP LEADER LEWES

STUART AGNEW MEP N NORFOLK & BROADLAND
GODFREY BLOOM MEP HOWDEN
MARTA ANDREASEN MEP RUYMEDE
DEREK CLARK MEP DAVENTRY
JOHN WHITTAKER EX MEP & UKIP CHAIRMAN NORTH LANCS
GRAHAM BOOTH EX MEP TORBAY
ALAN BOWN NEC THANET
GEORGE CURTIS NEC COLCHESTER
CHRISTOPHER GILL NEC LUDLOW
DOUGLAS DENNY NEC BOGNOR & LITTLEHAMPTON
ANDREW SMITH EX PARTY TREASURER EPPING FOREST
DON RANSOME BOSTON & SKEGNESS
MICK McGOUGH REDBRIDGE & WALTHAM FOREST
STUART GULLEFORD BRENTWOOD & ONGAR E Ex Titford Office manager
DAVID CAMPBELL BANNERMAN MEP & DEPUTY LEADER WEST LONDON

To say that the above was a Roll of Dishonour would be an understatement!

All these people have actively supported Farage in his lies and dishonesty. Some are under investigation by OLAF. Some have been accused of helping Farage rig UKIP’s MEP selection process. Some have been reported to the Police. One made a false statement in his MEP election address. One advised misleading Elcom. One is not in favour of leaving the EU and was sacked from her job after allegations of racism.

Lord Pearson is Farage’s favoured successor. He made this VERY clear on The Daily Politics.

Farage intends to use Pearson as a puppet. The fact that Pearson has the signatures of the so-called party elite/Farage sycophants tells you all you need to know - here is a man who will work in their interests.

And don't forget it was Pearson who was heavily involved in getting Marta Andreasen selected as an MEP. He signed her nomination papers and even allowed her to use his flat as her UK address. Why was he so keen to support a person who does not even believe in leaving the EU? The answer is Farage told him to.

So what would change if Pearson won? The answer is nothing.

Farage will remain:

Lead spokesman
Leader of the MEPs
Leader of The Political Committee
Employer of the Press Staff
Leader in The EU
Lead Candidate in The General Election
Leader of the EFD - a Pan EU Political Party group
Leader of all employed staff


And don't forget that Farage has been having talks with certain well-known Tories. If he gets elected in Buckinghamshire you can expect a few shocks.

The members need to ask themselves a few questions:

Do you want a leader who is just a tool of the former leader. A leader who will allow Farage to pull the strings and dictate policy from the backseat? A leader who does not want the job and only put his name forward because Farage asked him.

Or do you want a leader who will reject Farage, pursue a new agenda and work for the good of the members and ultimately our country?

If the answer is yes to the second question then you must reject Pearson and vote for another candidate. And we are not taking about Batten or Nattrass!

Crisis in UKIP: Farage does it again

Anyone who still thinks that Farage is not a liability should take a look at this:

Daily Politics

He said:

"There are five candidates standing. Only one of them is a serious, credible candidate and that's Lord Pearson, who has had major achievements in his life in business and politics too.

"If Lord Pearson gets that job and I'm leading the party in the European Parliament, then I would argue that UKIP is stronger and will be for several years to come.

"If it's not Lord Pearson, things will be tricky. But I think it will be Lord Pearson. He is head and shoulders above the others."


End of quote.

The great Nigel Farage has decided that all the other candidates are lacking credibility. It’s nice to know that Farage regards the membership as little more than children who need to be told how they should vote.

And to make matters worse he has been repeating this gaffe in conversations with various members!

Perhaps someone should remind Farage that in a previous leadership election a regional organiser - Dennis Brookes - lost his job after promoting one of the candidates.

Here is an extract from the rules:

CAMPAIGNING. Candidates and their supporters shall conduct campaigning activities in a friendly and constructive manner, and in accordance with the Party Constitution. In the case of a serious breach, the Returning Officer may disqualify the candidate from the election. No candidate may make unauthorised use of the Party membership lists. The National Executive Committee will endeavour to arrange a series of hustings at which all candidates will be invited to appear.

We at Junius can confirm that Gerard Batten is reported as being ‘disgusted’ with Farage. Another candidate has threatened to make a formal complaint to the Returning Officer.

We suggest a complaint based on the fact that Farage breached UKIP's own rules by denigrating four candidates and using a TV appearance to promote one of them would be in order.

Nigel, publicly humiliating three of your fellow MEPs is not a very good move. And can we assume that if Pearson does not win you are not going to work with Batten, Sinclaire, Wood or Nattrass?

Your working relationship with the MEPs in question is now broken beyond repair. Your stupidity has damaged the Euro-realist cause YET again.

You and your sycophants have already cost UKIP over £750,000 in fines and legal costs. Isn’t this enough damage for you? Don’t you think that at this time you should have been making friends and not even more enemies?

How about doing the decent thing and resigning now? And how about taking Pearson with you?

Also see: LINK

UKIP: Tom Wise sentenced to two years in prison

Tom Wise has been jailed for two years. He will probably be released after a year or even after just a few months.

We note that Farage and Nuttall are still claiming that UKIP took immediate action after first becoming aware of the allegations.

This is a lie.

Tom Wise remained a member of UKIP right up to March of this year. They even asked him to make a donation to UKIP's Euro election campaign. An "internal inquiry" under former leader Roger Knapman concluded that Wise's actions had been "honest and honourable throughout".

Here is what Anthony Butcher - a member of the NEC at the time of the original investigation- had to say:

Piers Merchant and Trevor Coleman presented the findings of their initial investigation into Tom Wise (but they had only limited access to bank statements).

In what is surprisingly normal behaviour for the UKIP NEC, the NEC weren't allowed a copy of the written report. Instead, Piers Merchant read it out aloud (we assumed all of it but had no idea). Several of us requested copies so that we could make an informed decision but were refused. Our questions at the end were fobbed off, and Trevor was largely prevented from speaking.

It became very clear that Trevor Coleman, the former Police Inspector, was advocating that we should begin a second stage of investigation into the finances of Wise after they discovered a couple of potentially dodgy looking payments. Piers Merchant advised against further investigation on the grounds that they hadn't uncovered any fraud.

The NEC was split on this and a compromise was reached, proposed by Douglas Denny that the internal investigation would resume after the OLAF investigation had completed and we could retrieve the documentation needed from them.

A couple of months later the OLAF investigation had finished and Roger Knapman informed us (wrongly) that Tom Wise had been found completely innocent. We then had a vote on continuing our own internal investigation, and the majority voted against it (Douglas Denny included).

It should also be noted that Tom Wise had the whip withdrawn only from the UKIP group within the Ind Dem group after his boasts were exposed in the NotW and NOT in relation to this fraud as UKIP is trying to make out. He didn't have his UKIP membership revoked, still sat with the UKIP MEPs, was still and Ind/Dem MEP and still worked with them in Brussels, including co-signing documents. In reality UKIP took no action against him in relation to this fraud.

End of statement.

And here is a list of all those NEC members who voted to end the investigation:

Roger Knapman
Gerard Batten
Nigel Farage
Douglas Denny (switched his vote)
Elizabeth Burton
Alan Bown
Rachel Oxley
John Whittaker
Michael Zuckerman

So can we expect them to resign from UKIP? We are joking as integrity is sadly lacking in any of their lives!

We at Junius fully expect several other UKIP MEPs to find themselves in the same dock as Tom Wise - and that includes Nigel Farage.

UKIP: The far-right and Mark Croucher

We at Junius have noted that Mark Croucher - also known as Friar Tuck - has denied working for EUKIP. This is a lie.

Only yesterday he was spotted relaxing after work in a well-known Brussels bar. His drinking companion was Nigel Farage.

Fact - Croucher is now an official spokesman for the EFD group.

This self-proclaimed anti-fascist warrior and supporter of the far-left Searchlight group is now quite happy to represent numerous far-right extremists and fascists. The words stinking hypocrite come to mind.

And here are the politicians he now represents:

True Finns.

Timo Soini, leader of the Finnish Perussuomalaiset (True Finns) Party, and rather oddly a keen supporter of Millwall F.C., should add a little spice to Farage's new group.

He wants to restrict entry to Finland for foreigners, and calls for legislation to force those already there to integrate. Describing itself as "populist", the True Finns has its roots in agrarian politics, is anti-capitalist, believing that entrepreneurship hampers bureaucracy. The party attracts a great deal of support from those who would have previously voted for the SDP or the Left Alliance. Its mix of "back to the soil" agrarianism, populism, and militaristic nationalism has led many observers to categorise the party as National Socialist. Indeed, in keeping with Nazi tradition, Soini was a corporal in the army.

In April 2009, all the leaders of Finland's political parties signed a declaration condemning racism. Only Soini refused to sign. The party also believes homosexuality to be an "aberration". Finnish celebrity Teuvo Loman complained to police about a Facebook site, called "Lets beat Teuvo Straight", set up by a True Finns candidate for Urjala municipal council elections. The site allegedly promoted violence against Loman.

In December 2006, True Finn councillor Jussi Halla-aho caused a controversy when he published the following comments as part of a discussion about immigrants and rape: “The number of rapes will increase in any case. Therefore, as more and more women will undoubtedly get raped, I sincerely hope that at least the right women, the green-leftist reformers and their voters, will find themselves in the clutches of the rapists, who randomly select their victims. Rather them than anyone else. With people like that nothing else works, except when their own multiculturalist views turn against them.” Halla-aho, who describes asylum seekers as "parasites", has been charged with hate crimes.

Another interesting True Finn politician, is the former wrestler and parliamentarian Tony "the Viking" Halme. In 2004, he received a four-month suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay fines totalling 80 income-linked "day-fines" - amounting to EUR 4,480 - for criminal offences that were uncovered in connection with a drunken firearms violation episode in the summer of 2003.

Other charges brought against Halme included behaviour likely to cause danger, smuggling, possession of imported goods knowing them to be illegal, and drug use. The latter is ironic, as he has called for drug offenders to be sent to Russian prisons, where they can be dealt with in a more cost effective manner. The day after he was elected to parliament he caused a stir by attacking President Tarja Halonen as a "Lesbian". (Halonen had been a champion for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans-Gender rights in her country). In 2006 Halme was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. In that same year he was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital.

The True Finns will sit well with the populist Lega Nord, the Italian party expelled from the Independence & Democracy Group by Farage following allegations of racist behaviour. That party is partly defined by its homophobia.

Lega Nord.

Giancarlo Gentilini, Lega Nord's deputy mayor of Treviso called in 2007 for the "ethnic cleansing" of homosexuals." I will immediately give orders to my forces so that they can carry out an ethnic cleansing of faggots," he told a local television station. "The faggots must go to other cities where they are welcome. Here in Treviso there is no chance for faggots or the like."

In the same year he taunted Pecoraro Scanio, Italy's Minister of the Environment and an open bisexual, by saying: "In Gorgo, a woman was raped with a chisel in the back and in the front. I say to Pecoraro Scanio that I want the same thing happens to his mother and his sister."

Pro-Federalist Lega Nord – the party's constitution says that the party will end its political activity when federalism is obtained - are no strangers to racially motivated violence: indeed, MEP Mario Borghezio was fined in 1993 for beating a 12 year old Moroccan child. In 2005, whilst sitting as an MEP, he was found guilty of setting fire to the belongings of immigrants under a railway bridge in Turin, during a vigilante raid. In September 2007 he was arrested by Belgian police for his part in an anti-Islamic demonstration.

The former leader of Lega Nord, Umberto Bossi, an MEP in the last parliament, was convicted of incitement to violence in 1998. He received a one-year suspended prison sentence. He had previously received a conviction for taking a 200 million bribe. In 2003 he described Africans as "Bingo-Bongos", and suggested that the Italian navy should open fire on boats carrying refugees.

Notorious holocaust denier Father Floriano Abrahamowicz is considered to be the "unofficial Chaplain" of Lega Nord. He told an Italian newspaper: "I know the gas chambers existed... but I don't know if anyone was killed in them. I know that, in addition to the official version, there is another version..." He has also been a vocal supporter of Erich Priebke, the German SS officer convicted of war crimes for a 1944 massacre in Rome, extradited to Italy from Argentina and currently living under house arrest.

The Lega has its own militant faction, the so-called Green shirts.

Morten Messerschmidt: Heil Hitler, & some embarrassing songs.

The Danish People's Party (DPP), rejected by the British Conservatives, has been condemned by the Paris based European Jewish Congress for its approach to the question of immigration. It has also been accused of Islamophobia.

Morten Messerchmidt is one of the DPP's new MEPs. In 2002 he was sentenced to prison for racially motivated offences. In April 2007 he was reported to have been drunk in a restaurant in Copenhagen, and was seen "Heiling Hitler". Messerchmidt subsequently admitted singing Nazi songs at the restaurant. The incident caused him to temporarily resign from his position in the government.

Messerchmidt is a former assistant to Mogens Camre MEP, himself reported to the police for possible violations of anti-racism legislation in 2007.

So much for Croucher’s anti-fascist credentials. But like so many in EUKIP his ‘principles’ are the principles of greed and self-advancement. We sincerely hope that he enjoys working with his new fascist pals.

So what will Searchlight say in the light of these revelations? Will they expose him in their next magazine? We can but hope!

UKIP leadership election: More on Gerard Batten

A few facts for all those UKIPPERS who are thinking of voting for Gerard Batten.

He has consistently refused to publish his MEP expenses.

A former NEC member has gone on record as saying that Batten was “the most vociferous opponent when this was put to the NEC as a motion in 2006”.

He has failed to properly answer the Open Europe transparency questionnaire on employees.

He put his signature to a Farage letter which called on members to approve changes to UKIP’s constitution. This would have given Paul Nuttall the right to suspend members without having to give them a reason. That's dictatorship in our book.

He criticises Farage in private but lacks the courage to do this publicly. There is little point in attacking Farage’s arrogance and incompetence if you are still happy to jump into line the moment Nigel clicks his fingers.

He has still FAILED to mention his leadership bid on his MEP website. Click on latest news and you STILL get the article on the Irish vote! See: LINK

Gerard Batten would be a weak and ineffectual leader. Look at his record in London. Branches are closing and UKIP's vote is withering on the vine.

Forget him. The race for leader is between Nikki Sinclaire and Lord Pearson.

UKIP: Let us all shed a few more tears for Nigel Farage

Is Iain Dale finally falling out of love with our Nigel?

From Iain Dale's Diary

6th November

Farage Goes Ballistic Over Commons Ban

Nigel Farage has thrown his toys out of his pram, and accused the House of Commons authorities of being "fascistic", after the Commons decided to withdraw Commons passes from serving MEPs.

Labour's John Mann had tried to get Nick Griffin banned from holding a pass, but it was felt the only way this could be achieved was to withdraw passes from all MEPs. In an interview with talkSPORT's Sean Dilley, Farage declared...

“It’s absolutely monstrous! Over the last ten years I’ve used my Palace of Westminster pass a lot. I’m here all the time and to be denied access to this place because a bunch of yobbos [in reference to the BNP] get 6.2% of the vote, because of the Government’s failed policies on immigration, is absolutely ludicrous.

For goodness sake, we’ve had convicted murderers, we’ve had Sinn Fein IRA who’ve had passes to this place. I’m absolutely furious about it. Those that campaign most vociferously against fascism are nearly always fascistic in their own tendencies and always seek, like Peter Hain, to ban free speech. They’re not living on the same planet as the rest of us.”

The UKIP Leader slated his colleagues in the European Parliament for their apathy and failing to lobby the Westminster Parliament into returning the security passes to MEP’s. “They haven’t got the courage to do it,” he said. “Oh no, if we did that we’d be seen to be supporting the BNP.”

I have to say I have never quite understood why MEPs had passes to the building in the first place, so I can't get as excited as Nigel Farage about this.

To view the original: LINK

Poor Nigel. No more subsidised Commons booze. Is it time to go back to the 'Annabelle Fuller Arms' and enjoy all the comforts offered by the plump one?

Has Farage forgotten that he was elected to the Euro Parliament? We all know that he has failed miserably to get us out of the EU but why should he be allowed to swan around the Westminster bars at the taxpayers expense?

If only Nigel had got as worked up over the Lisbon Treaty. So would he care to explain why he failed to campaign against it in the UK?

Also see: LINK