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What a god-awful mess this country has got itself into over multiculturalism, and once again our fear of racism will lead to the betrayal of hundreds of young girls
UKIP surged on in the latest council by-elections, storming a previously rock-solid Labour stronghold at Rawmarsh in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
Labour councillor Eleanor Jackson insisted it could still cause upset to Muslims - and officials in Radstock, Somerset, agreed with her proposal not to buy a new St George's flag.
ONE of the young victims of the Oxford child sex ring has accused Oxfordshire County Council of “ignoring” her and her family.
The BBC is to apologise for a Newsnight report about military charity Help for Heroes that gave the false impression it was responsible for shortcomings in support offered to wounded veterans. A BBC investigation found the report in August 2012 was misleading and unfair. The programme has also been under fire for dropping a report into disgraced BBC DJ Jimmy Savile and wrongly linking Lord McAlpine to a sex abuse inquiry. The apology to Help for Heroes will be broadcast on TV and radio later. The internal investigation into the report by former Bureau of Investigative Journalism chief reporter Angus Stickler found that there was no evidence to back Newsnight's claim about Help for Heroes. In the apology, the BBC will say: "Following an investigation by its Editorial Complaints Unit, the BBC now accepts that its coverage was misleading and unfair to Help for Heroes. "The BBC gave the impression that Help for Heroes was responsible for shortcomings in the provision of support to wounded veterans. The editorial complaints unit found no evidence to support this suggestion. "It is important to stress that the ruling has found that it is clear that at least some injured veterans and their families had been expressing criticisms of Help for Heroes and it was legitimate to report these." "Although it was legitimate to report the concerns of veterans, the BBC portrayed criticisms about overall support by a number of agencies as specific criticisms of Help for Heroes. This unfair impression was reinforced by our coverage of the story in other outlets. "In addition, the Newsnight report contained interviews with two contributors which were edited in a way which misrepresented their views." It continues: "Although a representative of Help for Heroes took part in a studio discussion which followed the Newsnight report, the response of Help for Heroes to the criticisms wasn't properly reflected. "This contributed further to the unfair impression of Help for Heroes, for which the BBC wishes to apologise." The BBC said it accepted the findings of the ruling, and acknowledged that it had "made some mistakes" in reporting concerns from some veterans: "That shouldn't have happened and we apologise." "It is important to stress that the ruling has found that it is clear that at least some injured veterans and their families had been expressing criticisms of Help for Heroes and it was legitimate to report these," it added. Newsnight was criticised for dropping a report into Jimmy Savile's years of sex abuse. It led to an internal inquiry and the programme's editor, Peter Rippon, stepped down. Then last November the programme linked Lord McAlpine to allegations of sex abuse. The BBC paid £185,000 in damages to him. A new editor for the programme was announced on Thursday. I
Via EVF News Feed
A brave woman fought off two Asian-looking muggers after they kicked her to the ground in a Cambridge alleyway.
Via EastAnglianEDL News
In a stunning confirmation that the Blair and Brown governments deliberately engineered mass immigration, the former Cabinet Minister (pictured) said New Labour sought out foreign workers.
Marine LePen's conservative Front National party's popularity continues to soar, especially among young people, and polls say if elections were held today, she would beat current president Francois...
Why do we have to wait until another Labour/Liberal Party Paedophile is dead to be exposed?
Detectives were convinced Sir Cyril Smith was a serial paedophile 42 years ago – only for prosecutors to dismiss the case THREE times. Our investigation has revealed how police compiled an 80-page dossier of evidence in 1970 in which the former MP was accused of molesting eight boys. In a covering note, the senior investigating officer wrote that it was ‘impossible to excuse’ the conduct of Smith, who had ‘used his unique position to indulge in a sordid series of indecent episodes with young boys to whom he had a special responsibility’. The case was rejected by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which claimed in a terse one-page response that the allegations were ‘completely without corroboration’ and that the ‘character of some of these young men would be likely to render their evidence suspect’. It was one of three occasions on which prosecutors sent back police files after ruling Smith, who died in 2010, should NOT be charged for child sex offences. We can also reveal the evidence of a new victim, who had told how he was subject to sexual abuse at the hands of the 30-stone politician in Knowl View, a council-run school for vulnerable boys in Rochdale. It is the first time Smith has been accused of molesting children at the school, which closed in 1992 in the wake of separate allegations of sexual and physical abuse. The victim, Chris Marshall, says he was just seven or eight when then-MP Smith – known among the pupils as ‘the fat man’– forced him to perform sickening sex acts. Victim of Cyril Smith: ‘He took me into this flat. He was on the bed and another kid was there too’ Greater Manchester Police: Former Rochdale MP Sir Cyril Smith DID sexually abuse boys A total of 12 men have come forward claiming to have suffered abuse at the hands of the politician, who was knighted in 1988. Most of the allegations relate to Cambridge House, a hostel for deprived boys opened by Smith in 1962. Detectives confirmed for the first time last night that they believed Smith WAS a predatory paedophile – and say there would be a ‘very realistic’ prospect of prosecution if he were alive today. As long ago as 1969, Lancashire Police were convinced Smith was molesting youngsters at Cambridge House. Eight boys had made a series of strikingly similar allegations about his behaviour, saying he molested them under the guise of medical examinations and ‘discipline’. We have learned that Smith, when interviewed by detectives, said he was legally in charge of the youngsters and entitled to dole out ‘corporal punishment’. But on the covering note of the 80-page evidence file, submitted the following year, the investigating officer concluded: "Prima facie, he appears guilty of numerous offences of indecent assault." Despite the certainty of detectives, an official at the DPP’s office – the forerunner of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – replied in a brief letter to the chief constable there was no ‘reasonable prospect of a conviction’. The CPS admitted last night they would have made a different decision if presented with the same evidence today. Police tried again to refer the file to prosectors in 1998, while investigating abuse in children’s homes across the region under the banner of Operation Cleopatra. But the CPS, which had by that point replaced the DPP, said that, while there was ‘sufficient’ evidence to prosecute, the law stated it wouldn’t be fair to Smith to overturn a decision made nearly three decades before. The following year, the police AGAIN referred the evidence file to the CPS after another victim came forward, saying he had been abused by Smith in the 1960s. The CPS concluded that, since the allegations were so old – and since the victim had later asked Smith for a favour – there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to bring charges. GMP, who have been investigating the allegations against Smith in conjunction with Lancashire Police, said it was ‘right and proper’ to acknowledge the suffering of his victims. Steve Heywood, assistant chief constable of GMP, said: "This has been a very complex inquiry and I hope people understand why it has taken some time before we were in a position to comment publicly. "It was very important that we examined all our records very carefully so we could be certain what involvement we had in investigating allegations against such a high-profile figure. We are now in a position to say that, on three separate occasions, files were passed to first the DPP and then the CPS containing details of abuse committed by Smith, but on each occasion no prosecution was pursued. "Having now reviewed those decisions, we believe that if the same evidence was presented to the CPS today, there is a very realistic prospect Smith would have been charged with a number of indecent assaults, and that the case would have been brought to trial. "Clearly, that is a bold statement to make but it is absolutely important for those victims who were abused by Smith that we publicly acknowledge the suffering they endured. "Although Smith cannot be charged or convicted posthumously, from the overwhelming evidence we have it is right and proper that we should publicly recognise young boys were sexually and physically abused, and we will offer them as much support as they need should they wish to speak to us." Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, said "What has become clear is that Cyril Smith should have been prosecuted. In both the 1960s and 1990s the police believed there was sufficient evidence to prosecute him for sexual abuse. We now know the CPS failed to act on police officers’ recommendations on three occasions. "In the last week, I have met with senior police officers. They were in no doubt Smith should have been put in the dock and they wanted the victims to know this." Sir Cyril’s brother Norman Smith said: "The Smith family is deeply saddened by and concerned about the allegations made so long after Sir Cyril’s death and at a time when he is no longer able to defend himself. Sir Cyril’s unwavering position was that there was no case to answer." Rochdale council has confirmed it was going back through its files on Knowl View. Victim of Cyril Smith: ‘He took me into this flat. He was on the bed and another kid was there too’ Greater Manchester Police: Former Rochdale MP Sir Cyril Smith DID sexually abuse boys CYRIL SMITH TIMELINE: 1952: Smith becomes Labour councillor for Rochdale
1962: Smith opens Cambridge House, a hostel for deprived boys
1966: Smith is made mayor of Rochdale
1969: Lancashire Constabulary investigate claims Smith abused eight young boys at Cambridge House; detectives strongly believe he is paedophile
1970: Director of Public Prosecutions rejects police file, suggesting the boys’ ‘character’ could make their evidence ‘suspect’
1972: Smith becomes Liberal MP for Rochdale, having changed his political allegiance
1979: Rochdale Alternative Press reports testimonies of Cambridge House victims. Smith issues libel writ, but does not sue.
1979: Chris Marshall allegedly abused by Smith in Knowl View, a school for vulnerable boys
1988: Smith knighted
1992: Smith retires as MP
1997: Smith investigated by GMP as part of Operation Cleopatra. A further alleged victim comes forward.
1998: Crown Prosecution Service rejects file for second time.
1999: A further victim comes forward. CPS declines to bring charges for a third time, due to ‘insufficient evidence’.
2010: Smith dies
2012: GMP and Lancashire police reopen their file and confirm they believe Smith was a paedophile The following is an article in the Rochdale Observer as far back as 2007 Compensation bid over ordeal at Knowl View - September 01, 2007 FORMER pupils of Knowl View School have come forward to speak out about the abuse they endured there more than 20 years ago. This comes after fellow pupil Michael Seed, friend and priest to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, wrote of the sexual abuse in his book ‘Nobody’s Child’ . The men now plan to apply under the Freedom of Information Act for reports made at the time, in the hope of seeking compensation through the courts. One former pupil approached the Observer to tell of the abuse he received at the time and how it ruined his life. The man – who asked to remain anonymous – attended the school for boys with learning and behavioural difficulties in the 1980s. He said he was abused by fellow pupils and, when this was brought to the attention of staff, he was told to keep quiet. He said: “The first night I was there the boys all stripped naked and jumped on me. This was when I told my mother, “She was told that boys would be boys and it would be sorted. But from that moment on I was victimised. “I tried to talk about what was happening and got told to stop lying or I would regret it. “Something should be done about it, even after all this time, because it was a nightmare.” He added that the abuse has had a detrimental effect on him since leaving Knowl View, saying: “This has totally ruined my life.” A second man said he was physically assaulted while at the school in the 1980s. As a result of his ordeal he tried to take his own life. He said: “I tried to run away, but I never told my mum why I didn’t want to go back. “I was stripped naked in the gym hall as a humiliation tactic so I wouldn’t try to escape again. “In another incident I was beaten up in my dormitory and hit my head on the sink. “Nobody should have to experience that sort of thing. This can’t be swept under the carpet – something has to be done for other victims as well.” His mother said she felt guilty for making him attend Knowl View. She said: “That guilt turns to anger at the people who let this happen. He was told he needed to be at that school and when he kept running away I took him back kicking and sobbing. “When the allegations surfaced, it was all brushed over.” She added: “More than anything I want this to be out in the open. Somebody needs to be held accountable for what happened.” http://menmedia.co.uk/rochdaleobserver/news/s/1015186_compensation_bid_over_ordeal_at_knowl_view
A true piece of art, and a wonderful tribute. Respect to our American Allies
The parents at the centre of the Ukip fostering row have urged council leaders to consider their positions after they failed to apologise for removing three children from their care. The couple said they felt "slandered and besmirched" after social workers took the ethnic minority children away because they were members of the UK Independence Party.
The husband said: "They should be considering their positions. These are people on incredible salaries who are paid to make responsible decisions but they can't do it.
"It's completely baffling that they just can't put their hands up. They say this is a complex case but we don't agree. It's very simple."
Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, condemned the council's decision as "indefensible" over the weekend after The Daily Telegraph revealed that the children had been taken away.
The Department for Education has mounted its own investigation and officials have demanded answers to a series of questions about the case. Rotherham metropolitan borough council yesterday failed to apologise to the couple and refused to release the findings of an internal report into the case.
As the row threatens to dominate this week's local election Nigel Farage, the leader of Ukip, said that Joyce Thacker, Rotherham's head of children's services, should lose her job.
Mrs Thacker, who is paid more than £130,000 a year, this weekend defended the decision to remove the children from the foster parents last week because of their "cultural and ethnic needs".
Mr Farage told BBC2's Politics Show: "I want them to be pardoned, I want the children to be returned to them and, yes, heads should roll."
The couple, who are in their fifties and have been described as "exemplary" foster parents, yesterday questioned the council's claim that the children's removal was in their best interests.
The wife said: "How can it be in their best interests to remove them at a moments notice without giving them the time to meet and get to know their new foster parents?
"The council in Rotherham is from the dark ages. It's inconsistent with how the country feels and how this country is run."
She said that one of the girls they were looking after had started calling them "Mum and Dad" and said she wanted to stay with them "forever".
"She bumped into our grandson on the streets and said she missed him and missed us," she said.
"If the social workers or the guardians of this particular girl were to ask her if she wanted to come back we would welcome her with open arms. They had some really happy times here."
The couple were given just 20 minutes notice before the children were taken away from them.
"I was so distressed," she said. "We had to keep it together for the kids but inside we were so angry and upset. I had to go into the kitchen and take a deep breath.
Roger Stone, the council's Labour leader, said: "As we said on Saturday, membership of Ukip should not bar someone from fostering.
"We have been able to establish the facts in this case as far as is possible over the weekend, and I can confirm that the children are safe and in very good care.
"However, this remains a very complex case involving legal advice relating to the decision in question, particular features of the children's background and an external agency responsible for finding and providing the foster carers concerned."
He added: "This is a sensitive child protection case. It involves both vulnerable children and the foster carers, so the information the council is able to release publicly is limited by law.
"At all stages, however, we will seek to be as open and transparent as possible as we co-operate with the Secretary of State."
Border agency staff are powerless to deport Lazhari Zemouche who has been arrested 92 times in Spain over the past 25 years for crimes from theft to robbery. * Lazhari Zemouche arrested 92 times in Spain over the past 25 years
* Crimes range from theft to robbery and he has used fake identities
* Believed to have entered into a sham marriage to obtain a British passport An Algerian-born career criminal suspected of a ‘marriage of convenience’ to a British citizen has been deported from Spain to the UK.
Police said Lazhari Zemouche had been arrested 92 times in Spain over the past 25 years for crimes from theft to robbery and had used a number of fake identities.
But because he had married in the UK before his latest crime spree in Spain, he was deported to London rather than to his native Algeria. Officials said he was put on a plane to London after his latest arrest in Majorca because he was deemed a ‘security risk’ in Spain.
Spanish police sources claimed Zemouche, whose whereabouts were unknown last night, had entered into a sham marriage to obtain a British passport. They admitted that unless Zemouche was a wanted man in Britain, he would be free to roam the streets and carry on offending as he has done over the past two and a half decades in Spain.
His wife’s identity and the exact date of his marriage, said to have taken place in England ‘a few years ago’, were not revealed by the Spanish authorities.
He was deported to the UK under a 2007 Spanish law allowing it to expel EU citizens for security reasons.
A spokesman for police in Majorca, where 45-year-old Zemouche was arrested on October 4 and held in an immigration centre pending deportation, declined to name him officially.
But Zemouche’s initials appeared in the local media and informed sources confirmed his full identity.
The police spokesman said: ‘He was deported to Britain because he married a British citizen in the UK and has British nationality. ‘Police records show he has been arrested 92 times since 1987 in different parts of Spain for crimes including theft and robbery and has been in prison several times. He has also used up to 22 identities.
If this gentleman has put on his British passport form that he’s not got a criminal record outside of the UK then he would appear to be lying because his spells in prison date back a number of years.’
A police source added: ‘We suspect he entered into a sham marriage to obtain a British passport because after marrying he’s returned to Spain and continued offending and in principle doesn’t appear to have had any contact in Spain with his wife. For us it’s a marriage of convenience.’
Last night there was no answer at an address in North London where Zemouche is thought to have lived previously.
Spanish police declined to offer a full list of his past offences. An official admitted: ‘Unless he is wanted in Britain then he will obviously be free to walk the streets a free man until such time as he reoffends.
‘But with his history, it’s a question of when and not if he’s going to reoffend.’
The Home Office said it could not discuss individual cases.
Before he was granted British citizenship, background checks were carried out on Zemouche. These would have included establishing whether he had committed any offences in the UK.
Figures last year showed EU migrants were committing over 500 crimes a week in Britain, but officials were powerless to deport most of them.
Whitehall’s interpretation of EU freedom of movement rules means only offenders who have received a jail term of at least two years can be deported.
Nigel Farage condemned 'another appalling case of discrimination' after a former district nurse said she had been prevented from volunteering as a mentor by the leading children's charity. A row over two UKIP members having their foster children removed took a new twist last night when another woman claimed she had been barred from looking after children because she was a party candidate.
Nigel Farage, UKIP leader, condemned ‘another appalling case of discrimination’ after former district nurse Anne Murgatroyd said she had been prevented from volunteering as a mentor for young adults by leading children’s charity Barnardo’s.
Ms Murgatroyd, a mother of three, claims she told the charity of her political affiliation and was told it would ‘not be appropriate’ for her to perform the role, which involves supporting children coming out of the care system, because UKIP ‘opposes multi-culturalism’.
The charity said there were other reasons for Ms Murgatroyd’s rejection but refused to disclose further details.
The claim came as two investigations were launched into a council’s ‘indefensible’ decision to remove three vulnerable children from their foster parents because of their support for UKIP.
Social workers at Rotherham Borough Council claimed the married couple’s affiliation with UKIP meant they supported ‘racist’ policies which made them unsuitable carers for the non-British children and there were concerns for their ‘cultural and ethical needs’.
But amid widespread condemnation of their actions yesterday, the Labour-run council began an internal review, and Education Secretary Michael Gove announced his own investigation.
Last night, Mr Farage said he had ‘no reason’ to doubt Ms Murgatroyd’s story. He said: ‘I met this lady at our party conference. We knew about this story at the time but she chose not to publicise it. She has now decided to make it known, really in support of the couple in Rotherham. Because of all that, I believe her story is genuine.’
Separately, UKIP officials said Ms Murgatroyd informed them of her problems with Barnardo’s several months ago.
The latest claim emerged in a series of posts Ms Murgatroyd, who stood as a UKIP candidate for Leeds City Council in May’s elections, made on Twitter. She wrote: ‘Barnardo’s would not allow me to be a volunteer befriender of young people leaving care when I told them I was standing for UKIP . . . Barnardo’s rationale for this was that “UKIP opposes multi-culturalism”.’
Responding to a Mail on Sunday reporter, she wrote: ‘I’d almost gone through their process and been accepted when I told them I’d be standing for UKIP in locals . . . They checked with managers, discussed it, couldn’t accept me due to issue of multi-culturalism.
‘Their rationale was that because UKIP opposes multi-culturalism it would not be appropriate for me to mentor young people coming out of the care system. My argument was that, yes, I do oppose forced marriage and female genital mutilation and family killings but that does not make me unsuitable to befriend young people.’ Barnardo’s denied ‘blanket banning’ any applicant. It said: ‘The needs of the child must be paramount when making any decision about matching them with carers and the most important thing is to provide a loving and supportive environment.
People from all backgrounds work and volunteer for Barnardo’s but there are many factors to take into consideration when assessing suitability to work with children or young people. Cultural context is relevant, but so are family background, health, and any previous experience.’
The foster couple in Rotherham at the centre of a separate storm claimed Howard Woolfenden, the council’s former director of safeguarding children and families, had taken the decision to separate them from the children in their care without prior discussion.
They also denied claims their membership of UKIP affected their treatment of the children.
The wife said: ‘We were actively encouraging these children to speak their own language and to teach us their language. We enjoyed singing one of their folk songs in their native language.
‘These children have now been placed with families who are also white British. How are these people going to meet the cultural needs of these children?’
The Equality and Human Rights Commission said the decision may have breached the parents’ right to freedom of political opinion.
Mr Woolfenden was not available for comment.
In a statement, Rotherham council announced an immediate investigation and said: ‘Membership of a political party should not stop someone fostering children.’
Labour leader Ed Miliband called for an urgent probe. Response: The charity said there were other reasons for Ms Murgatroyd's rejection but refused to disclose further details
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New data from the 2011 Census showed that 3.8million came to the UK's shores in the previous ten years, doubling the number who were already living here.
A fresh analysis of the 2011 census has shown that Christian faith in the UK is declining rapidly amongst the British-born population, whilst belief in Islam has dramatically increased.
THE Nanford Guest House was used by the child sex gang as a place to take the underage girls for sex, the Old Bailey heard.
The 15-year-old, whose British father is a Christian, is set to give evidence against seven men arrested in Mulhouse, eastern France, pictured.
A flypast over a reservoir in Derbyshire commemorates 70 years since the Dambusters destroyed key targets in World War II.
Alicia Gali of Australia was excited about her new job in the "desert paradise" of Dubai. American-owned Starwood Hotels, one of the world's largest hotel groups, even offered to pay for her plane ticket and accommodations as part of the contract...
A peer quits Labour days before he is due to face a hearing after reportedly blaming Jewish-owned media organisations for his imprisonment for dangerous driving. (This man is NOT a Peer, whatever piece of paper he has been given saying that.
By Karl Foulkes - An ex-taxi driver and fast food worker who paid to have sex with a Shropshire schoolgirl has been sentenced for a paltry two and a half years imprisonment at Wolverhampton Crown Court. Mohammed Islam Choudhrey was thought to have paid over £600 to the teenager in the course of a just a few months. He had admitted a charge of paying for the sexual services of a child between January and December, 2009. Judge Michael Challinor told Choudhrey that he had ‘cynically used the young girl for sexual purposes’. He stated Choudhrey’s actions had been relentless and the harm to the Telford teenager was enormous. Incredibly Judge Challinor believed that Choudhrey was not part of the usual filthy Muslim predatory gang and that he had actually been KIND to the victim ! The judge said “But the offence is serious and the age difference makes you dangerous to young girls who must be protected,” Choudhrey, of Solway Drive, Sutton Hill, Telford, was made the subject of a Sex Offences Protection Order for the next seven years. The judge directed that a second accusation of paying the girl for sex should lie on the file.
Miss Deborah Gould, prosecuting, said that Choudhrey’s plea portrayed a prolonged course of conduct over a period of several months. She said that Choudhrey met the vulnerable girl, when she was 16 and he would shower her with food, alcohol and cannabis and that the teenager had already been heavily abused by two other men who were manipulating her and using her as a prostitute.
Choudhrey then became a client, paying £50 each time. Defence for Choudhrey, Mr Denis Desmond said his client had not corrupted the girl and had treated her well and gave her gifts. The money came at later dates. He said Choudhrey had been oblivious that the other men were getting the cash from the girl. Mr Desmond said that as a consequence of the case Choudhrey had been disowned by his family and ostracised by the local Muslim community.
LABOUR MSP Anne McTaggart was one of a number of MSPs whose claims have been made public after a rise of more than £900,000 in expenses in the last year. A NEWLY-elected MSP used taxpayers’ money to buy a public speaking guide for “dummies”. Labour’s Anne McTaggart was left embarrassed yesterday after the latest batch of Holyrood expenses revealed the purchase. The Glasgow MSP spent £141 on books just a month after being elected in May last year. The titles included Public Speaking and Presentation for Dummies, The Scottish Parliament: An Introduction and several books on Labour politician Barbara Castle. The figures show MSPs claimed just over £12.8million in expenses last year, up 8.2 per cent on the previous year. The rise of £969,436 to £12,818,835 is due to winding-up expenses claimed by MSPs who either stood down or were voted out of the Scottish Parliament at the 2011 elections. Excluding these costs, MSPs’ total expenses were just over £11.3million, a decrease of £500,000 on the previous year. A total of 48 MSPs claimed winding-up expenses, which include staff salary costs, staff redundancy and office and accommodation costs. Who claimed what? A list of what MSPs claimed
Last year’s top spender was Orkney MSP Liam McArthur, who claimed £52,878. He was followed by Highlands and Islands MSP Dave Thomson and Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) MSP Alasdair Allan. All three made substantial travel claims. SNP MSP Annabelle Ewing claimed the lowest amount – £3460. First Minister Alex Salmond claimed £13,361 for items including office rent, travel costs including mileage, and phone bills. Labour leader Johann Lamont spent £17,831, which included hotel stays in Edinburgh as well as taxi and train fares. The Glasgow MSP spent £800 on website costs and more than £1050 on surgery advertising. Conservative leader Ruth Davidson claimed £20,440. Her expenses include £148 in June 2011, for staff training entitled “dealing with difficult people”. Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie claimed £19,738, including £361 on return flights from Edinburgh to Heathrow in July 2011. Green Party co-leader Patrick Harvie spent £24,266 on expenses including rail passes and hotel stays.
Tory vice-chairman Michael Fabricant suggested an electoral pact with the Eurosceptic party, but Mr Farage (pictured) says he could only work with someone pragmatic like Michael Gove. UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage today suggested he could form an electoral pact with the Conservatives - but only if they ditch David Cameron as leader.
As the war of words between the two parties escalated, Mr Farage claimed he could work with a new 'pragmatic' leader like Michael Gove.
The row erupted after Tory vice chairman Michael Fabricant, who is in charge of Parliamentary campaigning, warned the Prime Minister a deal with UKIP is vital to reunite 'warring brothers'.
Tory party chairman Grant Shapps 'categorically' ruled out a pact with UKIP.
Mr Farage had rejected an electoral deal with the Tories, declaring 'war' on the Conservatives at the next election.
But today he said the main obstacle to doing a deal was Mr Cameron, who famously once described UKIP as 'a bunch of fruit cakes and loonies and closet racist'
Mr Farage said: 'If Cameron went and somebody pragmatic, grown up and sensible like Michael Gove was leader, you might think then we could sit around the table and have a proper discussion... open-minded, doesn't throw abuse around and thinks issues through - he would be the right kind of person.
'It's very difficult for us to believe anything David Cameron says, because after all, he gave us a cast-iron guarantee that we'd have a referendum [on the Lisbon Treaty] and it hasn't happened,' he told BBC2's Daily Politics. Yesterday he took to Twitter to reject the idea of being offered a ministerial post in exchange for not standing against Conservative MPs, writing: 'No pact with Tories: it's war.'
He went on to claim that the 'Fabricant deal seems to be based on buying me off. UKIP is bigger than that'. Mr Farage added: 'I'm in politics because of my beliefs not because I'm a career politician like so many these days.'
Mr Fabricant made his explosive proposal for a pact in a report for Mr Cameron seen by Mail Online. He insisted securing the smaller party's support by committing to an early in/out EU referendum and giving Mr Farage a ministerial position would help the Tories win 20 to 30 extra seats in 2015.
Under the terms of the pact being suggested by the Tory vice chairman, UKIP would agree not to field candidates against Conservative MPs in exchange for the referendum pledge and a Government post for its leader.
He is due to outline the idea over 'social drinks' with Mr Cameron tonight.
But Tory party chairman Grant Shapps insisted no deal would be done. 'I want to win the next election outright of course for the Conservatives so that we have an outright majority and we don’t have to be in coalition,' he told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One.
'But I want to do that with Conservative candidates fighting and winning on their own ground and on their own terms and that is exactly what we are going to do.
'So I can categorically rule out any form of electoral pact with Ukip or anyone else.'
Mr Fabricant insists offering a pact with UKIP 'would not be a sign of weakness by the Conservative Party. It would be a pragmatic extension of existing philosophy from a party of Government'.
'Moreover, this could mark the final rapprochement between warring brothers.'
But Downing Street today slapped down Mr Fabricant, insisting: 'He does not speak for the party on electoral strategy. We will be standing in every seat. There is no thinking about a pact.'
In a sign of growing frustration among Tory backbenchers, MP Stewart Jackson responded on Twitter: 'Electoral strategy?!?! Problem is no one does!' Tory relations with UKIP have been dire since 2006 when Mr Cameron declared: 'UKIP is sort of a bunch of fruit cakes and loonies and closet racists mostly.'
But Mr Fabricant insisted: 'He [Mr Cameron] wasn't too keen on the Lib Dems either before the last election. Anything is possible.' Mr Fabricant said Mr Farage was a 'former Thatcherite, who sounds like a Conservative, who looks like a Conservative, and in other circumstances probably would be a Conservative'.
But Mr Farage is still furious at the remark, insisting Mr Cameron 'alone in British politics today continues to throw this slur at us that because we believe in not having our law set in Europe and controlling our borders that somehow that is racist'.
'If he wants an electoral war with my party on his immigration open door policy he can have one,' he told Sky News.
The conflict between the two party's has been heightened by the row over the decision by Labour-run Rotherham council to remove three young children from their foster parents because the couple were UKIP members.
The move by social workers from Rotherham Borough Council has prompted condemnation from politicians of all parties. The controversy is expected to boost UKIP's showing in a by-election in the South Yorkshire town on Thursday.
Today, in a statement issued through UKIP, the couple said: 'We are surprised there has been no apology from Rotherham Borough Council and feel they are hiding behind the complexity of this case.'
UKIP earlier blasted a statement from Rotherham council leader Roger Stone as 'saying nothing'.
Councillor Stone said in a lengthy statement: 'This morning I received a report of the immediate investigation that was ordered early on Saturday by the Cabinet member for children’s services.
'Having now listened to the initial report, I am now able to set out the way forward.
'As we said on Saturday, membership of UKIP should not bar someone from fostering. 'The council places the highest priority on safeguarding children, and our overriding concern in all decisions about the children in our care is for their best interests.
'We have been able to establish the facts in this case as far as is possible over the weekend, and I can confirm that the children are safe and in very good care.
'However, this remains a very complex case involving legal advice relating to the decision in question, particular features of the children’s background and an external agency responsible for finding and providing the foster carers concerned.
'The chief executive has this morning invited the senior officials making the inquiries to meet with him and other council officers in Rotherham as soon as possible, so that this information can be rapidly reported to the Secretary of State.
'In order to help the investigation further, we will also make all the facts established so far available to the Secretary of State’s officials.
'The investigation will focus on the information, advice and evidence gathered before making this decision, the nature of the decision itself and how it was communicated.
'This is a sensitive child protection case. It involves both vulnerable children and the foster carers, so the information the council is able to release publicly is limited by law.
'At all stages, however, we will seek to be as open and transparent as possible as we co-operate with the Secretary of State.'
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said that 'without any shadow of a doubt' Rotherham’s head of children’s services Joyce Thacker should lose her job over the row and the children should be returned to the foster parents.
And he indicated that the party is considering legal action to get redress from the council.
Mr Farage told BBC2’s Politics Show: 'I want them to be pardoned, I want the children to be returned to them and, yes, heads should roll. 'Without any shadow of a doubt, (Ms Thacker) should go.'
Commenting on the investigation, Mr Farage added: 'These people are now left in limbo, the children are uprooted once again and heads clearly aren’t going to roll.
'I am concerned that the inquiry is just a means to kicking the can down the road.
'If we are not going to get redress from Rotherham Council, we will have to consider other means. We are going to have to look at the legal route.'
Mr Fabricant's analysis suggests that up to 15 per cent of Conservative voters currently say they may vote for UKIP.
There is particular concern about how well the party will fare in European elections – traditionally its strongest forum – in 2014.
The Tory vice chairman, a former Government whip, told the Daily Mail: 'Discussing matters with different political parties is nothing new.
'After all, the Conservatives entered into a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. By entering into a pact with UKIP by offering an in-out EU referendum, we would not only please many possible Conservative voters and pre-empt any Labour initiative in that direction, we would prevent the crucial seepage of Conservative votes to UKIP in key marginal seats.' If Mr Farage brokered a deal, Mr Cameron should offer him a job in Government because he was such a good communicator, said Mr Fabricant. He warned that the alternative to a pact 'which both David Cameron and UKIP will have to consider, might mean a more pro-European Union Labour Government'.
At the 2010 General Election, UKIP won 3.1 per cent of the popular vote, but cost the Tories dozens of marginal seats.
Mr Cameron is under pressure to take a more Eurosceptic stance, with growing numbers of Tory MPs demanding a straightforward referendum on whether Britain should remain a member of the EU.
The PM has said he will only hold a vote on rubber-stamping a new relationship with Brussels, but does not want to leave altogether - a position backed by Boris Johnson yesterday.
Mr Johnson dismissed calls for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU.
He said: 'Suppose Britain voted tomorrow to come out, what would happen in real terms? We’d still have huge numbers of staff trying to monitor what was going on in the community, only we wouldn’t be able to sit in the Council of Ministers – we wouldn’t have any vote at all.
'I don’t think that’s a prospect that’s likely to appeal. With great respect to the in-outers, I don’t think it does boil down to such a simple question,’ the London mayor told BBC Radio 5Live.
Instead, he called for a repatriation of powers from Brussels: ‘What you could do is think of a new arrangement, areas of the treaty we didn’t want to participate in any more.’
Foreign Secretary William Hague suggested the Government would indeed offer a referendum on UK membership of the EU – after a renegotiation of the relationship and once the eurozone crisis was over.
Tony Blair will warn this week that Britain's prosperity relies on the country remaining committed to a strong EU.
CP Exposed exposes the fraud and corruption of political charity Common Purpose, and its use of neuro-linguistic programming for political purposes.
A former Conservative peer has waded into the row surrounding the controversial new Tory campaign chief, Lynton Crosby, by saying she agrees the party should not court Muslim votes because they are "all on benefits". Last week, the Mail on Sunday quoted a source suggesting the Australian strategist had told Boris Johnson, during the mayoral election campaign, to concentrate on traditional Tory voters instead of "fucking Muslims". Ian Birrell, a former speechwriter for Cameron, called Crosby a "disastrous signing" for the Tories in an article for the Independent. But this week, the MoS quoted Shreela Flather, a cross-bench peer who quit the Tories in 2008, as saying: ‘I don’t condone swearing, but Lynton is right to say it is pointless for the Conservatives to chase Muslim votes. They are all on benefits and all vote Labour.’ The Labour party launched a stinging attack on the baroness, who has made several past controversial statements on large Muslim families and benefit claims. Michael Dugher MP, Labour Party Vice Chair, said in response: "These shocking comments are totally unacceptable, there can be no place in politics for this kind of language or for such grossly offensive and ignorant attitudes. "Baroness Flather should immediately apologise." Baroness Flather, who was Britain’s first female Asian peer said in September 2011 that Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities were failing to adopt the values of British society and said they should have their benefits slashed. In a speech the House of Lords during the second reading of the Welfare Reform Bill, she said: "The minority communities in this country, particularly the Pakistanis and the Bangladeshis, have a very large number of children and the attraction is the large number of benefits that follow the child. "Nobody likes to accept that, nobody likes to talk about it because it is supposed to be very politically incorrect."
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