Ukip candidate William Henwood resigns following offensive Lenny Henry tweet

 
Nigel Farage: the Ukip leader said attempts to portray Ukip as racist will prove a "disastrous mistake" (Picture: Getty)
Standard Reporter30 April 2014
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Ukip council candidate William Henwood has quit the party after making offensive comments about Lenny Henry.

Mr Henwood, who was due to stand for the party in next month's election in Enfield, said Henry should emigrate to a "black country" over Twitter.

Lenny Henry: said ethnic minorities were under-represented on British television in a speech

A Ukip spokesman said: "Mr Henwood's remarks about Lenny Henry caused enormous offence and Ukip MEP candidate for the West Midlands Bill Etheridge spoke for many in the party with his strong condemnation."

The party has also begun action to expel two members after an internal investigation found evidence of links to far-right groups.

One of the men was discovered to have been a member of the British National Party from 2005-2010, the second to have been a donor to the English Defence League.

The process to throw out the the two men, who have not been named, came as party leader Nigel Farage claimed attempts to portray Ukip as racist will prove a "disastrous mistake" for the established political parties.

A series of controversies over offensive comments made by candidates and supporters and a stark anti-EU immigration poster campaign have failed to dent Ukip's soaring poll ratings which have put it on course to top the national poll.

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