Chinky? Well what do you say if you’re having Chinese, asks Farage
NIGEL Farage has defended a candidate who described a Chinese woman as ‘chinky’, claiming he is a rough diamond who grew up in a council house.
The Ukip leader received calls to sack Kerry Smith after the councillor made a string of comments, including a reference to a ‘chinky bird’, mocking ‘pooftahs’ and making jokes about shooting peasants.
Mr Farage initially refused to fire Mr Smith, who had been chosen to stand for the party in South Basildon and East Thurrock, but the candidate stood down by mutual consent on Monday.
When asked about Mr Smith’s behaviour yesterday, the Ukip leader claimed he had meant no ‘malice’ with the remarks.
He said: ‘I’m a bit sad because Kerry Smith is a rough diamond, a council house boy from the East End of London, left school early, and talks and speaks in a way that a lot of people from that background do.’ He added: ‘If you and your mates are going out for a Chinese what do you say you are going for?’
When challenged about whether he would use the word ‘chinky’, he said: ‘ No. A l ot of people would ... I don’t think I’ve ever used that word. The point is this – I feel a bit sorry for Kerry Smith because he’s a genuine fella.
‘I think even the “pooftah” comment ... the next sentence he was saying how good the candidate was and the fact he was gay would be an asset to the party.’
Mr Smith, a Ukip councillor on both Essex County Council and Basildon District Council, received a storm of criticism claiming he was racist and homophobic over the comments in a leaked phone call.
But Mr Farage insisted he had endured a ‘tough time’.
‘I think we are very snobbish in London about condemning people, perhaps for the colloquial language they use, particularly if it’s not meant with really unpleasant intent,’ he told LBC Radio.
He said Mr Smith had ‘ used language that Del Boy used to use on Only Fools and Horses and nobody objected then’.
‘However, he is not suitable to be a parliamentary candidate,’ Mr Farage added. But Labour MP Madeleine
‘Not meant with unpleasant intent’
Moon, vice-chairman of the All Party Group on China, said the Ukip leader ‘doesn’t get it’. She added: ‘Chinese people in this country will be deeply offended ... it’s not OK for a leading figure to say people can call Chinese people in their communities this offensive word. How dare he?’
The comments emerged during a torrid few weeks for Ukip after Mark Reckless, its latest MP, suggested on television that the party would like to see migrants who have been settled in Britain for years repatriated.
Then the party’s general secretary, Roger Bird, was suspended over claims he had behaved inappropriately towards candidate Natasha Bolter, who also stood down. Days later, recorded phone calls emerged in which Mr Smith called members of a Ukip-linked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender group ‘f****** disgusting’ and ‘old pooftahs’. He then referred to a woman with a Chinese name as a ‘chinky bird’.
He also mocked Ukip’s Chigwell candidate Lucy Bostick for her leaflets, saying she should ask residents of the upmarket area if they wanted to ‘hunt peasants’ with shotguns.
Mr Smith suggested he had been taking strong painkillers for a back injury at the time of the phone calls. But Mr Farage tried to laugh off this excuse, saying: ‘I haven’t found sedatives have had that effect on me.’