Godfrey Bloom MEP who called lesbian a ‘queer’ suspended for calling women ‘sluts’ & hitting reporter
A UK Independence Party MEP who allegedly called a lesbian politician “queer” has had the whip removed after joking that a group of female activists were “sluts”.
Godfrey Bloom made the comments while addressing an event designed to encourage greater female participation in politics at the party’s conference.
After two female UKIP members joked they did not clean behind the fridge, Mr Bloom admits he said: “This place is full of sluts.”
“I made a joke and said ‘oh well, you’re all sluts’ and everybody laughed and all the women laughed,” he said afterwards. “Was there a single woman in there who didn’t laugh at the joke?”
Mr Bloom was later filmed hitting Channel 4 News reporter Michael Crick over the head with a party leaflet after he asked him why there were no non-white faces on a campaign flyer.
He responded by accusing the journalist of being “racist”.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he believed disciplinary action should be taken, since the row had overshadowed his earlier conference speech.
Mr Farage said he did not have the power to suspend him without the authority of the party chairman and governing executive but would recommend sanctions against the Yorkshire and Humber MEP who he said had “gone beyond the pale”.
Party chairman Steve Crowther later confirmed the whip would be removed.
Earlier this month Nigel Farage, who previously claimed he would not expel UKIP members for calling gay people “disgusting,” said same-sex marriages were “illiberal” and lack “common sense”.
Ms Sinclaire subsequently left UKIP and successfully sued the party on allegations of sexual discrimination in December 2010.
At the time a UKIP spokesman told PinkNews.co.uk that Mr Bloom was not homophobic but was simply looking out for the interests of the taxpayer.
Mr Bloom provoked controversy last month when he talked about British foreign aid going to “bongo-bongo land”.
