Janice Atkinson suspension: Couldn’t happen to a better person?

Considering her record of behaviour, is anyone else surprised that the only reason Janice Atkinson has been suspended is her expenses?

According to the BBC, the MEP for the South East was due to contest the Folkestone and Hythe Parliamentary seat on May 7 – until the Sun newspaper revealed a possible expenses impropriety in which her chief of staff, Christine Hewitt, appeared to ask the manager of a restaurant in Margate, Kent, for an invoice for a much higher sum than the bill she had originally received, around the time of UKIP’s spring conference.

It is not known whether these actions were authorised by the candidate herself. If she is prevented from running for the seat, UKIP may have saved itself from scenes like this:

140518janiceatkinson

The party may also have saved itself the embarrassment of another televised faux pas (that’s your actual French) like the moment last year in which Ms Atkinson said that a UKIP supporter from Ramsgate was a “ting tong” (whatever that may be).

From the BBC report, it seems UKIP has already reached a conclusion about her behaviour: “A UKIP spokesman said the party was ‘incredibly disappointed’ with Ms Atkinson, who appeared to have ‘exercised extremely poor judgement’ and to ‘have acted in a way the party has never and would never condone’.”

Considering her record, one has to ask why it took the party so long to recognise this.

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12 Comments

  1. Annie March 20, 2015 at 11:35 am - Reply

    Yeah, like shes the only one!

  2. joanna may March 20, 2015 at 11:57 am - Reply

    Behaviour Ukip wouldn’t condone?!!! Huh, if I recall most of Ukip are doing worse than that!! And that farage git always seems to be pictured with alcohol in his grubby hands?? Not exactly the best advert is it?

  3. NMac March 20, 2015 at 12:50 pm - Reply

    If there is any evidence at all of deliberate fraud this woman should be prosecuted.

  4. Owen Williams March 20, 2015 at 12:52 pm - Reply

    If you ask me, this was either the straw that broke the camel’s back, or just an excuse to get shot of her. She clearly doesn’t give a toss about people – just another racist who couldn’t keep her mouth shut or her hands out of the cookie jar.

    But seriously, if UKIP keep chucking out all these fat-mouthed racists out of the party, there won’t be anyone left soon! Wouldn’t that be a joy? ^_^

  5. Bert March 20, 2015 at 1:16 pm - Reply

    Isn’t this the same woman that called somebody a “ting-tong”?

    • Mike Sivier March 20, 2015 at 2:01 pm - Reply

      Yes – as mentioned in the article.

      • Bert March 20, 2015 at 3:34 pm - Reply

        Apologies. Commented as soon as I saw the picture of Atkinson (giving the photographer the bird) and before I read the article

        • Mike Sivier March 20, 2015 at 3:37 pm - Reply

          No worries.

  6. Joan Edington March 20, 2015 at 2:13 pm - Reply

    Nigel loves his people really. When Scotland’s only UKIP MEP called the MSP Humza Yousaf “Abu Hanza” Nigel said it was only a joke.

  7. Thomas the dooter March 21, 2015 at 12:32 pm - Reply

    Now there’s me remembering that UKIP has had three or four of its MEPs banged up for expense fiddling and the like and El Nigel was boasting how much he made from EU expenses. Obviously Janice Atkinson was hand picked to follow in their honourable footsteps.

    • Mike Sivier March 21, 2015 at 1:24 pm - Reply

      Well, we don’t know that she’s guilty of anything yet – although the prima facie evidence does look bad.

  8. Bert March 21, 2015 at 3:30 pm - Reply

    If you steal from the government by making bogus expense claims in Blighty it’s called theft, whereas when UKIP members steal from the government in Europe by the same means THEY call it “repatriating” monies back to the UK… by way of their own pockets.

    You’ve got to laugh haven’t you?

    Stupid is bad: ignorant is bad: dishonest is bad.

    But stupid, ignorant and dishonest simultaneously seems to need a UKIP membership!

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