I’ll drain the Ukip swamp – Bolton
A MAN accused of carrying out the Finsbury Park van attack “decided to take matters into his own hands” after growing angry at a rise in terrorism, the jury at Woolwich Crown Court was told.
Darren Osborne, 48, from Cardiff, allegedly mowed down Makram Ali, 51, and nine other people on a crowded pavement shortly after 12.15am on June 19 last year. Osborne is charged with the murder of Mr Ali and attempted murder, which he denies. The trial continues. Midlands, said she was an active member of her school.
Mylee died in hospital after she was found with stab wounds. Father Bill Billingham, 54, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. THE engagement of Princess Eugenie and long-term boyfriend Jack Brooksbank has been described as “total joy” by the bride-tobe’s mother, Sarah, Duchess of York.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have also expressed their delight at the news, wishing their granddaughter and her fiance “all the best”.
Sarah posted a series of tweets to describe her joy at her daughter’s plans to marry Mr Brooksbank this autumn in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle – the same venue as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May.
Mr Brooksbank’s parents, Nicola and George, also spoke of their happiness following the announcement.
In three tweets, which were retweeted by the Duke of York, the Duchess expressed her happiness at the news. In the first, she wrote: “Total joy!!” and included a picture of the couple overlaid with the words: “A total embrace of goodness and joy.
“We love Jack and I am so excited to have a son, a brother and a best friend. Eugenie is one of the finest people I know, and so together it will be pure harmony.”
In the second, which featured a picture of the couple on a boat, she wrote: “They float with laughter and love ... although a boat helps!”
Her last tweet said: “I always say that the river flows well to its destiny because of the guidance of a solid rock.”
Eugenie, 27, and Mr Brooksbank, 29, got engaged in Nicaragua earlier this month. They met seven years ago while skiing in the Swiss resort of Verbier. EMBATTLED Ukip leader Henry Bolton has rejected calls to quit as he vowed to purge the party of those he blamed for “factional infighting”.
In a statement, a defiant Mr Bolton said Ukip’s ruling national executive (NEC), which passed a vote of no confidence in his leadership on Sunday, was “not fit for purpose” as he promised to bring in a new party constitution.
Earlier a series of senior figures, including deputy leader Margot Parker and assistant deputy leader Mike Hookem, announced they were quitting, insisting his position had become “untenable”.
Speaking outside the Folkestone hotel where he has been living, Mr Bolton said the time had come to “drain the swamp”.
“Without reflecting at all on its individual members, the NEC, as presently constituted, is unfit for purpose and has severely handicapped the party’s progress and political delivery for some years, as all recent Ukip leaders will attest,” he said.
“It has not only lost the confidence of me as the party leader in its ability to act objectively as the party’s governing body, it has also lost the confidence of a large proportion of the membership. The NEC requires significant and urgent reform. To that end, again during the coming weeks, I shall be proposing a new party constitution, with a newly constituted and reformed NEC.
“Likewise, it is now time to put an end to the factional infighting within the party and to remove those who have been a part of that. In a single phrase, it is time to ‘drain the swamp.’”
His decision to fight on means his fate will now be decided by a vote of party members at an emergency meeting next month.
Mr Bolton has been facing a stream of calls to resign following the disclosure that his ex-girlfriend Jo Marney, 25, posted a series of racist tweets about Prince Harry’s fiancee, Meghan Markle.
East Midlands MEP Ms Parker told BBC Radio Northampton that Mr Bolton’s personal life “took over the job he was elected to do” and urged him to stand aside.
She said: “It would be quicker and cleaner if he came to the conclusion he could go sooner rather than later.”
Mr Hookem, who resigned on Friday but made the decision public on yesterday, said the situation had become an “almost farcical scandal”.
“Ukip is now in the preposterous situation of the leader’s private life being of more interest than the party,” Mr Hookem said in his resignation letter to Mr Bolton.
Other figures to quit included London spokesman Peter Whittle, trade spokesman William Dartmouth, and local government spokesman Tim Aker.
Earlier, Ukip chairman Paul Oakden suggested that former leader Nigel Farage could take on a greater role in the party.
He said: “I think everybody would like him to have a greater role in Ukip. Whether that’s as leader or not, I don’t know if I would subject Nigel to that.”