UKIP Leadership Encouraging Vigilantism

After Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, disgracefully doorstepped historian and campaigner Mike Stuchbery and revealed his address - with the result that many of his fans have now joined in the abuse - one organisation could, and should, have acted to at least express its disapproval at this crude exhibition of vigilantism. But as that organisation was UKIP, it did not. Instead, it has encouraged it.

I em not a racialist but, und zis is a big but ...

If anyone needed confirmation that the UKIP of former Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage is long gone, it has come with new leader Adolf von Batten’s unequivocal backing for anything and everything that Lennon chooses to do. Lennon rocks up at Stuchbery’s house, shouting the odds, peddling a pack of lies that his target sent some men round to Lennon’s house (he didn’t)? Fine by the Kippers. Crickets from Batten.

Stuchbery receives hate email and worse? Fine by the Kippers. He finds himself stalked by someone with a long lens camera? Fine by the Kippers. Worse, Elizabeth Jones, who is on UKIP’s NEC, has put out a statement which beggars belief in its vicious dishonesty.

Here’s her schtick, with my corrections. “What a pity the whole story was not put in the press. On Sunday afternoon while Tommy was returning from Finland … 5 men turned up at his his house with a dog (resembling a pit bull terrier) and terrorised his wife and children”. BULLSHIT. No-one, repeat no-one, repeat NO-ONE “turned up at his house”. One man went to approach the house in order to deliver a legal letter.

But that one man did not get within 50 metres of the house as the Police were present. An officer took the letter and ensured its safe delivery. Also, the delivery of the legal letter was only necessary as Lennon had been ignoring correspondence. IT WAS HIS OWN FAULT.

Still, back to Ms Jones and her highly creative pack of lies. “On finding out who they were, when he returned, Tommy went (on his own) and knocked on the one journalist’s door he knew to ask why, when these people knew he was away, did they turn up and terrorise his children with live stream cameras etc.” MORE BULLSHIT. Let’s take this nice and slowly.

One, to repeat again, NO-ONE WAS TERRORISED. So Ms Jones should STOP LYING. Two, Lennon did not merely “knock on one journalist’s door”. He revealed his target’s address, knowing this would encourage his fans to pile in with abuse and worse. Three, he didn’t “know to ask why”. He chose Stuchbery because he was a convenient target, and justified his visit on a false premise, claiming Stuchbery had sent the men. He hadn’t.

Still, Ms Jones has yet more to tell us. “I am sorry to tell you we are dealing with the scum of the media and only working in this environment would you know how bad it is”. MORE BULLSHIT. You don’t occupy the moral high ground by supporting vigilantism. You don’t occupy the moral high ground by lying. And you don’t occupy the moral high ground by calling “scum” on others while cheering on unjustified harassment.

Meanwhile, Batten is there, whimpering “In the interests of free speech here is Tommy Robinson’s response to being taken off Facebook & Instagram. The attack on him is an attack on everyone who feels entitled to voice a point of view not in line with politically correct dogma”. Lennon, in Batten’s warped world, is “being attacked”.

But no word about Lennon going round terrorising others. Or Lennon’s pals joining in. Or the sharing of his target’s address. Or the stalking and unwarranted surveillance. No, that’s just fine and dandy. That, in the new UKIP world, is allowed, encouraged even. Yes, an allegedly mainstream political party is green-lighting vigilantism.

This behaviour long ago passed beyond the pale. And unless someone intervenes to cause Batten and his boot boys to desist, it will carry on - until something happens that is bad enough for the law enforcement authorities to wake up and take action.

UKIP is fast becoming a paramilitary political party. I’ll just leave that one there.

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