Two local UKIP leaders have quit their posts following Paul Nuttall’s handling of the Hillsborough disaster.
Stuart Monkcom and Adam Heatherington resigned from the party’s Liverpool and Merseyside branches after its leader admitted claims he lost close friends in the tragedy were false.
Nuttall was forced to concede that statements published on his own website stating he had lost ‘close personal friends’ at Hillsborough were inaccurate.
Prominent party donor Arron Banks fuelled the scandal by claiming that campaigners for the 96 Liverpool fans killed were ‘milking a tragedy forever’.
A statement from Monkcom confirmed his and Heatherington’s departures, just days before Nuttall prepares to contest the Stoke Central by-election, were as a result of the party’s stance on Hillsborough.
“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,” he said.
“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.”