UKIP Uncovered

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

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

There are leaks, and then there are leaks!

A reader has put together a series of incidents which, together spell out exactly what UKIP's demented cabal are doing. Apart, of course, from killing the party's reputation for truthfulness towards the press. When considered against the assets expended to advance the eurosceptic cause (see reports in the posting immediately beneath this) it is truly a tragedy that the party leadership is being allowed to drive the party into the ground as it is today doing, and that the calibre of the MEPs elected by UKIP for the price of more than two and a quarter million pounds is so lamentably low.

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Much of the following has already appeared in UKIPUncovered, but, when all put together, makes very unsettling reading...

Mark Croucher has claimed that the Party Manifesto was leaked to the Press. This is the same press officer who briefed the press, on covert instructions from his paymaster Nigel Farage, about motions passed at the November NEC meeting two hours before the meeting was over.

On Wednesday 15th December the Guardian published a story briefed to them directly by Mark Croucher claiming that he had sent a hoax email as an "internal sting operation aimed at discovering who had leaked the party's draft manifesto to the press". (I have appended the Guardian article below).

As UKIPUncovered readers may have guessed it turns out that the draft manifesto was actually leaked by .... the Party.

Journalists discovered the existence of the UKIP document when the UKIP draft manifesto was placed on the UKIP Party website in error. It appeared for a short time before it was embarrassingly taken down after much criticism and uproar.

The Guardian was rather scathing of Mark Croucher's report stating: "And just what was this fictitious but credible email? It reported that the party's leadership were minded to accept an offer from a "senior non-political figure" to donate a six-figure sum to the party on condition it hold a referendum on EU withdrawal. Frankly, the Backbencher is bemused. Would a serious political party really offer to change its manifesto in exchange for a big donation? Surely not! Still, at least the media have been warned that not everything sent from Ukip's press office can be relied upon to be true."

An own goal if ever there was one. It is clear who may have damaged the Party reputation. It is understandable now why the disciplinary case claimed by Mark Croucher against Damain Hockney was dropped by the Party. Strange though as in the past the truth has never got in the way of this leadership's disciplinary purges.

When you think about it, the whole exercise was rather pointless considering that incoming email from an individual like Mark Croucher is not confidential, especially so as he is not on the NEC himself and has the reputation for being the source of a great deal of spam email. Confidentiality on the NEC only arises from matters raised at an NEC meeting that is specifically agreed by the NEC to be confidential.

The Chairman, Petrina Holdsworth, as reported previously on UKIPUncovered on the 16th December, is the source of leaked confidential documents to Greg Lance-Watkins. We reported, "In a sensational development, the new Party Chairman Petrina Holdsworth has been discovered to have been passing information about internal discipline matters to Greg Lance-Watkins, a non-member who is paid by senior party members to spread filth about NEC members who are out of favour with the party leadership."

We have no news of a case brought by Mark Croucher or his paymaster against the Chairman.

If our country and our national heritage wasn't at stake this would be a hilarious matter. In fact a play could be written on the leadership antics. It could be called “Nigel & Co” and would fill a West End theatre for years to come. It might even make broadway.

But we are fighting for our lives and as long as Nigel Farage controls the “strings” Britain will go down the plug-hole.

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posted by Martin |1:12 PM