Leader of Nigel Farage’s Brexit party Catherine Blaiklock resigns as tweets expose racist views

Catherine Blaiklock. Photograph: George Ryan - Credit: Archant

The leader of the new Brexit Party has resigned over a series of racist tweets.

Catherine Blaiklock – who set up the party with the support of former UKIP leader Nigel Farage – said the comments, which have since been deleted, fell ‘well short of what is expected in any walk of life’.

A HOPE not hate analysis of tweets posted to Blaiklock’s now-removed Twitter account revealed multiple examples of anti-Muslim statements, including claims that Islam is ‘incompatible with liberal democracy’, that ‘Islam = submission – mostly to raping men it seems’ and is a ‘threat to women, gays, whites, non Muslims, Blacks, Indians, Chinese – aggression to everyone but themselves’, and ‘I want my country back … not acid attacks, mobs and mosques’.

She has also – on dozens of occasions – retweeted or quote-tweeted posts made by former leading British National Party (BNP) figure and neo-Nazi, Mark Collett, including his claims that there is a ‘white genocide’ taking place in Britain – the same phrase used by the Christchurch terrorist in his ‘manifesto’, to justify his murder of 50 Muslims in New Zealand. The last occasion she shared one of his posts was in January this year.

Blaiklock has also reposted content from numerous other far-right figures. The revelations are the latest in a series exposing Blaiklock’s preoccupation with the religion of Islam.

Blaiklock’s party has attracted numerous ex-UKIP members and politicians after a mass exit in December, ostensibly over the far-right and anti-Muslim focus of UKIP under current leader Gerard Batten, as well as the increasing influence of the extremist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (also known as Tommy Robinson).

Nigel Farage stated last month that the Brexit Party had his ‘absolute full support’, and that he would represent it if the UK participated in May’s European Parliamentary elections due to any Brexit delay. Seven other former UKIP MEPs have also joined the new organisation, giving it more MEPs than UKIP.

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Matthew McGregor, campaigns director of HOPE not hate, said: ‘Farage’s new party has lost its leader to a racism scandal before even formally launching – and the only reason Blaiklock has gone is because these vile comments were exposed by HOPE not hate.

‘Blaiklock’s abhorrent racist social media posts reveal the true nature of Nigel Farage’s ‘Brexit Party’: new branding, same old nasty underbelly.’

In a statement Blaiklock said: ‘My appointment as leader of the Brexit Party was only ever supposed to be temporary. My role working with Nigel Farage was to set the party up and get it registered with the Electoral Commission, all of which has now been achieved.

‘The out-of-character comments that I made on social media some time ago were unacceptable in tone and content. After speaking to Nigel Farage, I realise that my comments fall well short of what is expected in any walk of life.

‘I have accordingly tendered my resignation as party leader.’