Another prominent Ukipper has joined the criticism of Brendan Cox after Nigel Farage sparked outrage for telling the widower that he would “know more about extremists than me”.
Party donor Arron Banks accused the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox of endangering his children’s lives and politicising her death.
Banks has donated large sums to Ukip in the past and is co-founder of the Leave.EU campaign (which over the weekend got a bit upset about Gary Lineker’s hosting of Have I Got News For You).
Banks’ tweets about Cox prompted widespread disgust including this response from comedian Rufus Hound.
The spat between Farage and Cox began when the Ukip MEP said the Berlin terror attack, which left 12 people dead and 48 injured, was “no surprise” as he criticised German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “legacy”.
Farage sparked outrage on Tuesday after hitting out at Cox:
To which Cox replied:
When asked about Cox’s comments during an interview on LBC, Farage responded: “Yes well of course he would know more about extremists than me, Mr Cox.
“He backs organisations like Hope not Hate who masquerade as being lovely and peaceful but actually pursue violent and very undemocratic means.
“And I’m sorry Mr Cox but it is time people start taking responsibility for what happened. Mrs Merkel has directly caused a whole number of social and terrorist problems in Germany, it’s about time we confronted that truth.”
Cox responded to the verbal tussle with a simple tweet.
A Hope not Hate spokesman said they will be consulting with their lawyers over the “potentially libellous statement” made by Farage.
The organisation said in a statement: “We are aware of a serious and potentially libellous statement made about Hope not Hate by Nigel Farage on LBC radio this morning.
“We have no idea on what Mr Farage bases his outrageous comments. Hope not Hate has a proud history of campaigning against extremism and hatred.
“We will not be making any further comment until we have had the opportunity to consult with our lawyers.”