I quit party in protest at Ukip MEP’s racist abuse
Candidate blasts Farage after he refuses to dismiss Coburn
SHAMED MEP David Coburn has been accused of ‘unforgivable racist abuse’ by a Ukip candidate who quit the party yesterday in protest.
Tim Wilson rounded on leader Nigel Farage for ignoring the widespread condemnation of Mr Coburn, after he recently compared a Muslim SNP minister to convicted terrorist Abu Hamza.
Mr Wilson, who was due to stand for Ukip in South Northamptonshire and was tipped to come second behind the Tories, claimed in his resignation letter that he had been ‘forbidden to speak about Islam favourably’ by party bosses.
The dramatic move has piled more pressure on Scotland MEP Mr Coburn to resign, and comes only days after another candidate, Jonathan Stanley, quit in protest at the ‘racist filth’ in Ukip.
Mr Stanley, who was due to stand in the Cumbrian seat of Westmorland and Lonsdale, was the party’s former head of policy in Scotland. Ukip has also lost two other General Election candidates in recent days in separate incidents.
Mr Coburn’s controversial comment was made during a telephone conversation with the Scottish Daily Mail earlier this month, in which he spoke about his appearance on BBC Two show The Big Immigration Debate.
He claimed that SNP Europe and International Development minister Humza Yousaf was supposed to appear on the programme, and said: ‘Humza Yousaf, or as I call him, Abu Hamza, didn’t seem to turn up.’
Mr Coburn has since apologised for the remark and Mr Farage has dismissed it as a ‘joke in poor taste’, adding yesterday: ‘That’s David… that’s the way he is.’ But Mr Wilson told the Mail: ‘What Coburn said is unforgiveable – it’s racist abuse. It doesn’t matter whether it was a private comment or a public comment, this man has public office and he needs to filter the ridiculous thoughts that come from his brain.
‘He should be dismissed from Ukip and held to account. Mr Farage cannot dismiss something like this as a joke. You can’t toss this thing off as a joke with a pint of beer. It’s unacceptable.
‘If a leader cannot understand that it is the effect of his words, not his intention, that matters, then maybe he, too, needs to consider his position – and I would be the first to welcome Mr Farage into the political wilderness.’
In Mr Wilson’s resignation letter to the local party, he wrote: ‘Since selection, I have been systematically gagged by the party “whip” and forbidden to speak about Islam favourably…
‘Ironically, while I am told not to talk positively about Islam, a Scottish MEP and member of Ukip has used appalling l anguage that should never be condoned and that must be described as Islamopho- bic. Mr Farage has dismissed this as a joke... This is not a joke to me.
‘In an interview today, I have criticised both Mr Farage and the Scottish MEP, and for that reason I cannot and will not represent Ukip at an election.’
Mr Yousaf said yesterday: ‘I welcome Tim Wilson’s resignation. He has demonstrated that he is unwilling to be associated with a party that allows Islamophobia to be rife within its ranks.’
A spokesman for Ukip said: ‘Tim Wilson was never gagged or told he could not speak about Islam.’