UKIP local chair who compared homosexuality to bestiality forced to resign
The UKIP Chairman for Oxford has been removed from her position after being put under review for comparing homosexuality to bestiality and paedophilia on the official members’ forum of the party’s website.
A spokesperson for UKIP said the former Oxford chairman no longer spoke with the authority of the party, and said: “I can confirm that Dr Gasper is no longer the chairman of UKIP Oxford constituency association.”
A source from UKIP said other members of the constituency association will be changed, and that some of Dr Gasper’s supporters are also no longer on the committee. UKIP reiterated that she was welcome to resign, but that she would not be kicked out of the party.
Despite saying that the forum would not close down indefinitely, party officials were still deciding how to reopen it in a way which meant it could be more easily moderated.
Dr Julia Gasper, a former Oxford city council candidate previously wrote that gay people needed to stop “complaining about persecution” and start expressing “gratitude” to straight people, on whom they are reliant to be born.
She also said that PinkNews readers should be sectioned under the Mental Health Act, and used the UKIP forum to brand the gay rights movement a “lunatics charter”.
On the official forum, Dr Gasper went on to claim that some gay people preferred sex with animals, and wrote: “As for the links between homosexuality and paedophilia, there is so much evidence that even a full-length book could hardly do justice to the subject.”
Nigel Farage, party leader, said: “I have never even heard of these people. Julia Gasper is the only one… We’ve had problems with her and her position in the Oxford branch is not acceptable and is being changed. Her war against homosexuals is unacceptable.”
UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party) last week removed the chairman of its youth wing, Olly Neville, Young Independence, in part due to his support for same-sex marriage.
Mr Neville retweeted a comment from Twitter user @Leeroy_A, which said: “Good to see that Julia Gasper has been forced to resign as Oxford chair. Her disgraceful views have no place as a rep of a mainstream party.”
Richard Lowe, a former UKIP Parliamentary candidate who was also forced to resign following his support for equal marriage,he said: “To clarify: I first raised issues with Julia Gasper in September; was told as long as not public, her views were acceptable within UKIP.”
He previously tweeted about Dr Gasper’s review. He said: “Let me know if/when JuliaGasper ever gets disciplined.”
When approached about the comments written in the forum, Dr Gasper said: “I’m not going to talk about them. It’s none of your business.”
