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The racism controversy overwhelming Ukip’s election campaigns deepened yesterday after a party candidate tweeted that Lenny Henry should emigrate to a “black country.”
The latest screw-up came from William Henwood, standing to be a councillor for Enfield Town, London, when he made the comment about the actor and comedian.
In response to a speech by Mr Henry in which he said ethnic minorities were under-represented on British television, Mr Henwood posted on Twitter: “He should emigrate to a black country. He does not have to live with whites.”
Ukip leader Nigel Farage has been dogged by a litany of xenophobic and hypocritical gaffes and outbursts from his party members during the run up to the European parliamentary and local elections next month.
Mr Henwood has also attacked Muslims on Twitter, posting that “Islam reminds me of the 3rd Reich, strength through violence against the citizens.”
More evidence pointing to underlying racism within the party emerged when Camden Ukip candidate Magnus Nielsen used Facebook to hurl abuse.
He posted: “70 per cent of mosques in the UK have been taken over by Wahabbi fundamentalists. Islam is organised crime under religious camouflage. Any Muslim who is not involved in organised crime is not a ‘true believer’.”
Ukip also suspended the “star” of its election broadcast for making racist statements.
Builder Andre Lampitt said that “Islam is evil” and claimed Labour Party leader Ed Miliband was “not British.”
The far-right party was further humiliated when it was revealed that an actor posing as a British construction worker for a Ukip election poster accusing EU migrants of taking jobs was in fact Irish.
And earlier this month, in reaction to allegations of police corruption during the Stephen Lawrence murder investigation, Lewisham candidate Matt Pavey tweeted: “Does anyone remember the name Jean Bradley murder unsolved in Acton, London, in 1993. Anyone looking for corruption here? No, thought not.”
The situation is so dire that British National Party leader Nick Griffin accused Ukip of stealing BNP material.
He told the BBC: “If you look at Ukip they are using all our rhetoric, they are using our slogans, they are recycling our posters.”
