EXCL LISTEN Ukip leader hopeful brands Paul Nuttall team 'fascists' over FGM plan
2 min read
A Ukip activist hoping to seize the party crown last night branded the previous leadership team “incorrigible fascists” over their controversial policy on FGM, PoliticsHome can reveal.
In a fiery attack John Rees-Evans hit out at the plan in the previous Ukip manifesto to force Muslim girls to undergo annual checks to help stamp out the practise.
Announcing his fresh leadership bid the Welsh activist - who some will remember for claiming a gay donkey raped his horse - said under his watch the party will “never again risk being out of touch”.
Former leader Paul Nuttall shocked many in the party when he announced a range of measures aimed at tackling the “threat of Islamism”.
Among them was a ban on wearing full-face veils in public places and forced FGM checks for “at risk” girls once a year and when they return from trips where the practice is customary.
At an event in central London announcing his second bid for the top job, Mr Rees-Evans condemned the FGM plan as well as the Ukip U-turn from opposing to supporting Halal slaughter of animals.
“We will never again risk being out of touch - of being badly advised by self-declared experts,” he promised to about 70 supporters in Westminster.
“Or of claiming one day that we are so laid back about law and order that we don’t really mind seeing animals flailing around in agony while they die a slow and terrifying death because the government is too politically correct to ask certain slaughterhouses to finally prove they are being run as humanely as possible…
“And then schizophrenically turning into incorrigible fascists just a few weeks later and saying we want annually to look up certain little girls’ dresses.”
Mr Rees-Evans said under his leadership the party would implement a system of direct democracy where members will be able to propose, agree and refine policy.
He said the plan would ensure Ukip proposals are “resilient to the scrutiny of thousands of down to earth patriots”.
But he told PoliticsHome if there were a snap general election members would vote to keep, reject or amend existing policy from the previous manifesto - minus the plans to target Islamism.
The latest Ukip leadership contest was triggered after Mr Nuttall quit following the party's dire result at the general election.
Ukip won 600,000 votes across the country in June - well down on the almost 4 million they claimed in 2015.
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