Farage’s golden boy’s rant at ‘pooftahs’, ‘ Chigwell Peasants’ and ‘Chinky bird’: Astonishing leaked phone calls expose outbursts of Ukip man sent in to replace Neil Hamilton
- Kerry Smith made series of astonishing remarks in recorded conversation
- The Ukip activist was chosen last week to fight for Basildon South seat
- Refers to ‘disgusting old pooftahs’ and a Chinese woman as ‘a Chinky’
- He also makes a baseless claim about Nigel Farage accepting a bribe
- Mr Smith issued an ‘unreserved’ apology and retracted corruption claim
By Simon Walters Political Editor For The Mail On Sunday
Published: 22:00, 13 December 2014 | Updated: 00:57, 14 December 2014
The Ukip activist picked last week to fight a key Parliamentary seat made homophobic, racist and obscene comments and accused Nigel Farage of corruption, it was revealed last night.
In tape-recorded phone calls leaked to The Mail on Sunday, Kerry Smith, chosen to fight Ukip target seat of Basildon South in Essex:
- Mocks ‘f***ing disgusting old pooftahs’ who belong to a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning group, calling them ‘BLTs’ – bacon, lettuce and tomato.
- Jokes about ‘shooting peasants’ and mocks Ukip activist Lucy Bostick for printing ‘boring c**p’ on her leaflets.
- Refers to a woman with a Chinese name as a ‘Chinky.’
- Makes baseless claims about party leader Farage accepting a bribe to promote a Ukip ally over another rival.
- Calls Ukip’s immigration spokesman Steve Woolf a ‘f***ing carpetbagger and a***hole.’
But Mr Farage last night refused to sack Mr Smith. A well-placed Ukip official said: ‘Kerry wants to make a full apology and is hoping it all blows over.’
Scroll down for audio
Kerry Smith (left) was recorded making a series of astonishing comments including a baseless claim Nigel Farage (right) had accepted ‘a nice fat envelope’ for promoting a Ukip ally
EXCLUSIVE: Leaked phone calls expose rants of Ukip man
In a desperate attempt to avoid being fired, Mr Smith has made a grovelling apology and withdrawn his corruption claim.
In a statement made on Smith’s behalf by Farage’s official spokesman, Smith said: ‘I wish to issue a wholehearted and unreserved apology to those who I have offended within the party and anyone else.’
Smith also retracted his claim that Nigel Farage had accepted a ‘nice fat envelope’ for promoting Ukip immigration spokesman Steve Woolf over his rival, Euro MP David Coburn, in the 2012 London Assembly elections.
The Mail on Sunday understands there is no truth in the allegations and that neither Mr Farage nor Mr Woolf did anything wrong. The false claim was due to a ‘misunderstanding,’ said Smith.
He added: ‘With regards to the leadership and management of the party I was completely wrong and my comments were fuelled by frustrations.’
The homophobic comments by Smith refer to a Ukip gay group called LGBTQ. The ‘Q’ added to the usual LGBT initials stands for ‘Queer/Questioning.’
The disclosure of the tape recording is the latest outbreak of vicious infighting in Ukip.
Smith was sacked as Ukip candidate for Basildon South and East Thurrock earlier this year and right wing former Tory MP Neil Hamilton was a hot favourite to be chosen to replace him last week.
With Ukip support rising fast, the party has high hopes of winning Basildon South.
Mr Smith was last week announced as the candidate chosen to replace Neil Hamilton (pictured) for the seat of Basildon South in Essex
But in a shock last minute move, Smith, leader of the Labour group was reinstated.
Hamilton was forced to pull out after damaging information about his expenses claims were leaked by Ukip enemies.
Ukip insiders say Farage was determined to stop Hamilton because of his controversial past in the notorious ‘cash for questions’ scandal in the 1990s.
Hamilton’s allies claim Farage is ‘jealous’ of him and fears if Hamilton became MP for Basildon South and Farage fails to win in Thanet South across the Thames Estuary, Hamilton would be the party’s most high profile politician.
Some Ukip insiders say the decision to deselect Smith as Basildon South candidate earlier this year came after a copy of the recording was sent to party HQ. ‘Farage’s people heard it and that is why Kerry was booted out,’ said one insider.
‘They were panicked into reinstating him because they were more worried about Hamilton getting the seat.
‘They gambled that the tape wouldn’t be leaked. Now it has. It serves them right.
‘We cannot have grubby people like Kerry in the party, let alone standing for Parliament.’
Hamilton was on a list of five candidates in the running to become Ukip’s candidate for South Basildon.
He claimed he was the victim of a ‘dirty tricks’ campaign when a letter challenging claims for staying in his wife’s flat was leaked to the media just hours before the selection.
His withdrawal triggered a toxic row after the party’s second largest donor, Stuart Wheeler, reportedly threatened to cut off funds unless Hamilton was picked as a candidate for next year’s General Election.
It led to a furious reaction from Ukip’s treasurer, Andrew Reid, who said: ‘Nobody gets to buy a seat for someone else in Ukip.’
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