UKIP Uncovered

UKIP Uncovered
What motivates the leaders of the United Kingdom Independence Party?

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Lance-Watkins' links to UKIP leadership exposed!

A veritable deluge of confrontational e-mails from Greg Lance-Watkins has recently been circulating on various eurosceptic e-mail discussion groups. Among the subjects controversially covered being the futility of having MPs in Westminster, the proper use of Democracy Movement funds and the usual personal attacks against others in the eurorealist movement for whom he seems to bear often personal grudges.

Some months ago, following his widely publicised support for the murderous attack on the Swedish Foreign Minister during the Euro referendum campaign, the UKIP NEC instructed all its members to cease contact with this specific loose cannon. Such instruction is now quite clearly being ignored and proof positive to that effect now exists as all the members of the NEC have been made aware. This matter will be under discussion at next Monday's NEC meeting.

There follows an excerpt from a memorandum sent by one NEC member to the rest of the Committee detailing the problem for the party:-

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"... the attacks by Greg Lance Watkins on Damian Hockney are beginning to rebound on us. We all know that some members of the NEC and their staff are in regular touch with Watkins, It was made clear at the October NEC last year that Damian Hockney had neither met nor spoken to Watkins, so it was clear even then that the attacks were motivated by an agenda. Why otherwise was this non-member attacking someone he had never met or spoken to?

I have counted 10 such attacks in one week on a eurosceptic chat room. They couldn't do a better job of damaging the party if they tried. It is clear in the latest ones that Watkins has been told things by someone at the top of the party about conversations between Damian Hockney and Petrina of which only the leadership had knowledge. It is beginning to appear that this is a blatant attempt by someone high up in the party to brief against Damian Hockney, as no-one can be that motivated by bile and filth against someone they have never known or met or spoken to.

This has got to stop, as it is giving the impression which may be wrong of course that some are continuing the campaign against Damian Hockney by trying to belittle what a very efficient and motivated team appear to be doing in London. There's a whiff of envy in the attacks, a sort of envy and fear. I don't rule out that it may well be a double bluff and that Watkins may well be trying to damage Nigel and others by making Damian Hockney think this is the case.

My members have also begun to ask something. We hear a lot about what the Assembly team are doing but zero about the MEPs? We actually got a briefing before the recent story from the London team about the Olympics and I can't recall one occasion in the past when this has occurred from the party nationally or at MEP level.

One of my members saw Hockney actually on the ITN news, then heard him on the radio. He appears to have set up a fairly major operation at the GLA and it does us no credit to be seen to be smearing the efforts there through a discredited third party like Watkins who, we must remember, praised the murder of one of our opponents as "the act of a patriot". We must act to distance ourselves from this man at all costs.

I beg the NEC to ensure that whoever is briefing to stop this as it appears like sour grapes and jealousy on their part at the fact that Hockney and team are making an impact. Whether this is true or not it is how it is beginning to look. And what is true is that Watkins continues to be briefed by someone at a high level, and most of the NEC are aware of who it is."

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posted by Martin |8:00 AM