A Tory MP has revealed he contacted the police after he was sent an offensive email from his UKIP opponent, in which the family of murdered Stephen Lawrence were compared to apes.
Peter Luff has said that John White, who stood for UKIP in Mid-Worcestershire at the 2010 General Election, emailed him to ask if it was "a joke" that Baroness Lawrence had received a peerage. He attached a rant by a man named Pete Lucas who said that the peerage made him "ashamed to be British."
"Mrs Lawrence should be elevated higher than the indigenous Brit, which she would normally be, due to the preference of her species for dwelling in high places," the commentary states, apparently referring to monkeys.
‘Pete’ describes the peerage as "ludicrous", claiming Baroness Lawrence has only been awarded due to her skin colour and for "the distinction of having had a son murdered (sic) by white-men."
Mr Luff referred the email exchange to the police, the Mail On Sunday reported – who concluded that although the content was "deeply unpleasant" it did not constitute a crime.
Last night Mr White, 71, confirmed he had been visited by West Mercia over the email, but defiantly stated: "As far as I’m concerned we have freedom of speech in this country and I will say what I think."
Ukip has said White is no longer a member of the party. He attracted over 3,000 votes in the 2010 election.
His comments came as it emerged that members of Ukip's governing committee backed a proposal for an electoral pact with the far-right British National party (BNP)
Party leader Nigel Farage told the authors of Revolt Of The Right, Matthew Goodwin and Robert Ford, that the pair backing the move were "the angry old men of Ukip who thought Ukip was doomed".