UKIP candidate’s comments branded ‘shit’ by MP after making more rape ‘jokes’
Carl Benjamin during the launch of UKIP's EU election campaign. Picture: PA Wire/Stefan Rousseau - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
A UKIP candidate for European elections has been criticised after releasing a video suggesting he might rape Labour MP Jess Phillips.
Carl Benjamin, who had previously come under fire for a social media message in which he said he 'wouldn't even rape' the Birmingham Yardley MP, posted a video online suggesting that 'with enough pressure I might cave'.
His comments were described as 'shit' by Phillips, who questioned whether he should be allowed to take part in the May 23 poll.
MBenjamin released the video on YouTube, where he has a large following under the name Sargon of Akkad.
After announcing a list of spoof UKIP policies, including invading Spain and restoring the British empire, he said: 'There's been an awful lot of talk about whether I would or wouldn't rape Jess Phillips.
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'I've been in a lot of trouble for my hardline stance of not even raping her. I suppose with enough pressure I might cave. But let's be honest, nobody's got that much beer.'
The video, accompanied by the message 'I disavow my own jokes', was released on April 26 but gained wider attention on Friday after being highlighted by website BuzzFeed.
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Phillips told the site: 'The Electoral Commission should surely have standards about who can and can't stand for election.
'If Facebook and Twitter can ban these people for hate speech how is it they are allowed to stand for election?'
She later tweeted: 'I'm normally pretty tough, I take the slings and arrows I might just be tired but when asked to comment on this I was really upset.
'What do women have to do to end this shit? I'm so tired of people legitimising this stuff.'
UKIP did not provide comment.
Leader Gerard Batten has previously defended Benjamin's initial tweet as 'satire'.
Benjamin, who is standing for UKIP in the South West region, issued a statement to BuzzFeed saying that 'any subject can be the subject of a joke'.
'The alternative is a world devoid of humour, the essential tool we use to reduce the horror of events that are beyond our control,' he said.
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