The UK Independence Party’s Harrogate chairman has resigned saying he did not want to cause embarrassment to the party.
John Upex, who was due to be UKIP’s candidate at next year’s General Election said it was now a “professional political party” not suited to “amateurs” like him, according to the Yorkshire post.
His resignation followed a Tory MP claiming Upex had suggested "there are a lot of people who would be candidates for my supply of piano wire" in the event of a "blood-letting" in Britain – referring to a British exit from the EU, in personal correspondence.
According to letters he wrote to Andrew Jones, Upex said he backed a British exit from the EU "by force if necessary."
Clarifying his views to the Independent newspaper, Upex explained: "Before Ukip we had three parties that had no difference.
"We are in exactly the same situation as the Eastern Bloc countries before the Berlin Wall came down."
Defending his views, he said: “Mr Jones accuses me of eugenics. This is a complete travesty. My view is that abortion is a necessary but not very pleasant evil.
"With current medical science where do you draw the line? My personal view is that up to nine weeks is OK but later than that, I couldn’t do it.
"In cases like Down's syndrome or spina bifida, I know children in that state and it is horrible for everyone. In cases like that termination might be the best thing.”
Ukip has launched a clearout of "extremist, nasty or barmy" views from the party ahead of the polls.
Remarking on his resignation, Harrogate and Knaresborough's Ukip branch stated: "We have accepted the resignation of its chairman, John Upex, following a difference of opinion of views and policies.
Upex has already expressed controversial views on his website including describing recent immigration as an attempt to “destroy Britishness” and compared the movement of people in the European Union to the way “the Nazis moved ethnic Germans into the occupied territories of Poland - and the Israelis are establishing Jewish Settlements in the occupied territories.”