Farage quits Ukip over far-Right links

Former leader blames party’s Muslim ‘fixation’

NIGEL Farage last night quit Ukip over its ‘fixation’ with Islam and links to far-Right activist Tommy Robinson.

The former party leader said he was leaving after 25 years with a ‘heavy heart’.

He criticised Ukip’s direction under Gerard Batten, condemning his decision to support an anti-Brexit demonstration in London this Sunday.

He said the event, organised by Mr Robinson and his associates, was likely to ‘inspire violence and thuggish behaviour’.

As Ukip leader, Mr Farage took the party to third place by number of votes in the 2015 general election and paved the way for the Brexit referendum.

Explaining his decision to quit he wrote in the Daily Telegraph of Mr Batten: ‘His obsession with Stephen Yaxley-Lennon

Last blast: Nigel Farage (Mr Robinson’s real name) and fixation with the issue of Islam makes Ukip unrecognisable to many of us.

‘While Robinson may hold an appeal to some members of society who feel they are disenfranchised, I believe he is entirely unsuitable to be involved in any political party.

‘The fact is that his entourage includes violent criminals and

ex-BNP members. My heart sinks as I reflect on the idea that they may be seen by some as representative of the cause for which I have campaigned for so much of my adult life.

‘The very idea of Tommy Robinson being at the centre of the Brexit debate is too awful to contemplate. And so, with a heavy heart, and after all my years of devotion to the party, I

am leaving Ukip today. There is a huge space for a Brexit party in British politics, but it won’t be filled by Ukip.’

Mr Batten has described Islam as a ‘death cult’ and suggested policy ideas such as Muslimonly prisons.

Ukip’s national executive committee met at the weekend to consider Mr Batten’s future as leader, but it voted against a motion of no confidence. Mr

Batten has defended his decision to give English Defence League co-founder Mr Robinson a role advising him on rape gangs and prison reform, describing him as ‘courageous’.

He denied moving Ukip to the extremes or opening its doors to racists, and told the BBC that Mr Robinson would help him turn the party into a ‘mass movement ... a party for ordinary people’.

In a statement released on Sunday, Ukip said it ‘does not endorse the appointment of Tommy Robinson in any advisory role’. As founder of the farRight EDL, Ukip’s rules prevent him from joining the party.

Mr Farage’s announcement is likely to prompt further departures from Ukip, which has lost three MEPs in recent weeks.

Ukip said the demonstration on Sunday – at which Mr Batten is due to speak – has not been organised by the party, but a spokesman added: ‘Members are free to attend should they wish.’

‘Obsession with Tommy Robinson’