IT’S FEUDKIP!
Vicious war of words as party’s money man plots against ‘corrupt old Tory’ Neil Hamilton...with Nigel Farage on board
VICIOUS feuding at the top of Ukip has been laid bare by leaked emails revealing the scale of the civil war that has engulfed the party following Nigel Farage’s resignation as leader.
In one exchange seen by The Mail on Sunday, Ukip’s main bankroller Arron Banks describes senior party figure Neil Hamilton as a ‘corrupt old Tory’ – prompting Hamilton’s formidable wife Christine to accuse the tycoon of being ‘vulgar’ and ‘grossly defamatory’.
Another leaked message from a member of the party’s ruling body appears to reveal a plot to eject the party’s sole MP, Douglas Carswell.
Farage’s resignation following the Brexit vote has triggered a bitter power struggle within Ukip.
The chaos has led his allies to conclude that the party needs a radical overhaul, either by sacking the governing National Executive Committee or even dissolving Ukip altogether and starting a new party.
The panic was compounded yesterday when it was revealed that one of Farage’s closest aides is facing years in a US jail after allegedly being caught in an FBI sting.
George Cottrell, 22, who had just started working in Farage’s private office, was arrested and led away in handcuffs as he and the former
‘It’s a disgrace that he is involved in the party’
Ukip leader arrived in Chicago last month. Cottrell is now in custody awaiting trial on 21 charges including attempted extortion, money laundering and fraud.
One email exchange seen by this newspaper, a pro-Farage member of the NEC appears to reveal the existence of a plot to eject Mr Carswell, who has been embroiled in a long-running feud with Farage and his allies in the party.
The message, sent to Nathan Gill, a fellow Farage supporter, states: ‘I am compiling the case against Carswell already. We should have the votes. The latest I heard is that he has called a branch meeting in Clacton [Carswell’s constituency in Essex] and expects to be reselected in spring next year. He has a Tory crony as chairman to make sure it happens… let’s hope he is toast by then.’
The message goes on to suggest a plot is also under way to remove Mr Hamilton, an opponent of Mr Farage, with the NEC member saying: ‘I spoke to Nigel as I know you both are working together on this and suggested that it might be better that you gave up being an MEP… then… I will have a clear run to get rid of Hamilton. Nigel said he would think about it.’
The message was sent five days before Mr Farage resigned as party leader on July 4.
In another email to Gill, Banks complains about former Tory MP Neil Hamilton, who toppled Gill in May as leader of Ukip’s group in the Welsh Assembly. The move meant that Hamilton’s salary rose by £20,000 to £84,000.
Banks wrote in the July 23 message: ‘Corrupt old Tories never change – it’s a disgrace that someone like Hamilton is even involved in the party. I wouldn’t let him get under your skin, I’m sure he will be caught doing something naughty with expenses, if his wife doesn’t get there first!’
Mr Hamilton was embroiled in a cash-for-questions scandal in 1994 while he was a Tory MP, and his wife campaigned alongside him when he lost his Tatton seat to former BBC journalist Martin Bell in 1997.
Banks’s message was passed on to Mrs Hamilton, who hit back by claiming that his remarks were ‘grossly defamatory’.
She wrote: ‘I would not normally bother to respond to vulgar abuse but, as you involve me and have copied it to others, I have no choice. I take grave exception to your crystal-clear innuendo that I would make false expenses claims… an apology would not come amiss.’
Banks, who has funded Ukip and pro-Brexit campaign groups to the tune of more than £6 million, replied: ‘I think your reputation and that of Neil’s is clearly understood. His ability stretched to losing the fourth safest Tory seat in the country with a 48 per cent swing to a journalist! Enjoy the trough while you can…’
In another email seen by this newspaper, Gill told Hamilton that it was a ‘disgrace’ that he lived in England while sitting in the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff.
Farage’s favoured successor, Steven Woolfe, was blocked from standing by the NEC last week on the grounds that the paperwork for his bid was submitted 17 minutes late. The current leadership favourite is Ukip MEP Diane James.
A source close to Farage said: ‘The party’s NEC as currently constituted manages to be both over-powerful and completely incompetent.’
A spokesman for Ukip declined to comment.