Henry Bolton quits Ukip days after being sacked as leader
2 min read
Henry Bolton has quit Ukip just days after being dumped as leader of the party.
The ex-army officer was dramatically ousted by his members at the weekend after being caught in the scandal of racist messages sent by his girlfriend Jo Marney.
Interim leader Gerard Batten said his leaving the party would “draw a line under a sad period for Ukip”.
It came as Ukip home affairs spokesman Richard Bingley quit his job with a blast at Mr Batten for his “offensive, unfocused and factually wrong” comments about Islam.
Quitting the party means Mr Bolton will not be able to stand again for the top job in the fresh election - the fourth for the party in less than two years.
Mr Batten said: "This will draw a line under a sad period for UKIP but will allow us to concentrate on our core duty of representing the millions that have voted for us, and the 17.4 million whose decision in the Referendum is being betrayed by a political class, especially the leadership of both the Conservatives and Labour.
"On a personal level, I have written to Henry expressing my and the party's best wishes in whatever it is that he chooses to do next'.”
It was also confirmed that Mr Bolton is back together with Ms Marney, who was suspended from Ukip for saying Meghan Markle would “taint” the royal family.
'UKIP ISOLATED'
Meanwhile Mr Bingley quit his job in protest at continued comments by Mr Batten about Islam being a “death cult”.
In a statement he said: “It’s offensive, unfocused and factually wrong.
“When I signed up for Ukip, my motivation was to escape direct rule from Brussels and Strasbourg, not help declare war on Mecca and Medina.”
And he added: “It’s taken Ukip further into a dark and isolated Cul-de-Sac.”
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
