Ukip party leader Paul Nuttall faces yet more controversy in the run up to Stoke-on-Trent’s byelection on Thursday, where he hopes to unseat Labour.
The blow comes from Adam Heatherington and Stuart Monkcom, two Merseyside Ukip chairman who have resigned in protest following their leader’s admission that claims about losing close friends in the Hillsborough disaster were false.
Stuart Monkcom said: “Although the timing of our resignations is unfortunate in light of upcoming elections, both Adam and I wish to make it clear, where the painful subject of Hillsborough is concerned, with closure not yet in sight, this unprofessional approach and crass insensitivity from high-profile people closely within and without Ukip is upsetting and intolerable.
We identify most strongly with all the good people of Liverpool and most importantly the families of the Hillsborough victims who have fought so hard and long for justice, in their condemnation of the way Ukip has handled these issues and have resigned our positions and membership of Ukip forthwith.”
Heatherington added: “We have been affected both personally and professionally by words that were not said in our name. With this in mind, we wish to apologise to the people of Liverpool and the Hillsborough families for any offence caused and have done what we consider to be the only honourable thing we could do which was to resign and disassociate ourselves from Ukip.
“I felt that supporting a libertarian party was the right thing to do in order to effect change within the political system in this country. Unfortunately, that dream has been shattered and the potential of Ukip has been squandered by people who have demonstrated they are not fit to lead at present.”
Since his admission, Nuttall said in a radio interview last week that although he knew people who died in the disaster, he was “appalled” his website had given the impression that he was close to any of the victims. He has since described the episode as a “smear campaign”.