UKIP could lose £1m a year after European Parliament group collapses
The political group at the European Parliament set up by the UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, has collapsed, which could cost the party £1 million a year in public funding.
Farage’s anti-EU ‘Europe of Freedom and Democracy’ (EFDD) group collapsed after an MEP left, meaning it did not meet the minimum requirement of 25 members from 7 countries set by the Parliament to receive public funding.
He is currently trying to find a replacement for Iveta Grigule, the Latvian MEP who has left the group.
The UKIP leader said last week, when asked whether which kinds of people should be allowed to enter the UK: “People who do not have HIV, to be frank. That’s a good start. And people with a skill.”
He has faced criticism for the comments, with HIV/AIDS charities including the Terrence Higgins Trust and National AIDS Trust condemning the comments, as well as a number of other politicians.
Mr Carswell’s father is an eminent physician who is regarded as having been one of the first medical researchers to identify HIV while working in Uganda.
However, UKIP MEP Gerard Batten gave a robust defence of Mr Farage’s comments.
He said: “Why would you let someone in if they have such a dangerous disease. I think you should look at the immigration policy of other countries around the world, and I think most countries already have that rule.”
