Ukip leader Gerard Batten defends party candidate's rape tweet as 'satire'
The IndependentSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Ukip leader Gerard Batten has described a rape tweet sent by one of his party’s election candidates to Labour MP Jess Phillips as satire. Mr Batten defended the post on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, saying: “I think this was satire.” He described the candidate as a classical liberal and a proponent of free speech. He sent the tweet to Ms Phillips after the Labour politician wrote on Twitter: “People talking about raping me isn’t fun, but has become somewhat par for the course.” Following Mr Benjamin’s tweet, Ms Phillips said she was bombarded with “600-odd notifications talking about my rape” in one night. Carl Benjamin has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on his channel After Mr Batten’s defence of the candidate on Sunday, Ms Phillips said her husband had asked her: “Is this man satire?” A spokesman for Ukip had previously condemned Mr Benjamin’s rape comments, telling The Independent at the time he joined the party that the exchange with Ms Phillips was unpleasant.