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Ukip scuffle: MEPs Steven Woolfe and Mike Hookem reported to French police Ukip scuffle: MEPs Steven Woolfe and Mike Hookem reported to French police
(about 2 hours later)
MEPs Steven Woolfe and Mike Hookem have been reported to French police over their altercation at the European parliament, which plunged crisis-hit Ukip into further turmoil. The European parliament has asked French police to investigate an altercation between Ukip MEPs Steven Woolfe and Mike Hookem, after receiving “contradictory statements” from the two men.
Woolfe was left in hospital after the fracas in Strasbourg, which led to him quitting Ukip and abandoning his bid to become the party’s leader. Martin Schulz, the head of the European parliament, announced on Wednesday that he had asked French authorities to investigate the case, after an internal parliamentary committee failed to reach a verdict about the disputed events.
The European parliament president, Martin Schulz, said he had referred the matter to the French authorities “given the seriousness of the reported facts and their possible criminal implications”. The case has been referred to the general prosecutor’s office, which will lead a police investigation, a parliament source said.
Schulz said he referred the “regrettable” incident to the authorities after a recommendation from the European parliament’s advisory committee on conduct. Steven Woolfe, who has since left Ukip declaring the party “ungovernable”, was rushed to hospital after collapsing on a walkway at the European parliament in Strasbourg earlier this month following a scuffle with his colleague Mike Hookem.
He told the parliament: “[The committee] concluded that the versions of the facts given by the two members involved diverged substantially and the facts seem to have happened in the absence of direct witnesses. Woolfe claimed that Hookem “came at him” during an argument after a party meeting. Woolfe spent three nights in hospital after the fracas.
“It also stressed that given the seriousness of the reported facts and their possible criminal implications, further evidence is needed to clarify this matter. As a result I have decided to follow the recommendation of the advisory committee and I have referred this matter to the competent French authorities. Based on the result of the investigations I will then take a decision about a sanction to be imposed.” Hookem denied punching Woolfe and posted a photograph of his hands on Twitter in a bid to prove he had not landed a blow on his colleague. The MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire dismissed the altercation as “handbags at dawn”. The row, which started at an internal party meeting and spilled into a corridor, was triggered by revelations that Woolfe had considered joining the Conservatives.
Woolfe abandoned his bid to become Ukip leader last week, claiming the party was “ungovernable” without Nigel Farage at the helm. The two men took their different accounts to a European parliament conduct committee charged with investigating the matter. The committee of five MEPs had “received contradictory statements from the two MEPs and concluded that further evidence was needed to clarify the matter”, a parliament statement said.
He stood by his claim that he had “received a blow” from Hookem during the altercation at a private meeting and revealed he had made a police complaint about the incident. The MEPs also face sanctions for bringing the European parliament into disrepute. If Woolfe or Hookem are found to have broken the parliament’s code of conduct, they could lose up to 10 days of allowances, totalling €4,000 (£3,600), or be stripped of their voting rights for the same period.
Hookem has denied hitting the North West England MEP but the fallout from the 6 October incident has continued with claims that Woolfe had received warnings about “inappropriate behaviour” from senior party figures. The Ukip chairman, Paul Oakden, is leading an internal investigation into the affair, but has said there were no independent witnesses to the scuffle.
Hookem, MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, also claimed Woolfe had claimed €306 (£276) in daily allowances at the European parliament three times while recovering from his injuries earlier this month. Schulz told MEPs on Wednesday that parliament’s investigatory committee had concluded “that the versions of the facts given by the two members involved diverged substantially and the facts seem to have happened in the absence of direct witnesses”.
Woolfe, who will sit as an independent, said last week that the incident led to him being treated by doctors for two seizures, partial paralysis and the loss of feeling in his face and body. “[The committee] also stressed that given the seriousness of the reported facts and their possible criminal implications, further evidence is needed to clarify this matter. As a result I have decided to follow the recommendation of the advisory committee and I have referred this matter to the competent French authorities. Based on the result of the investigations I will then take a decision about a sanction to be imposed.”
He insisted a blow from Hookem knocked him back into the meeting room where Ukip MEPs were discussing reports that Woolfe was in talks about defecting to the Conservatives. Woolfe had been seen as frontrunner in the race to replace Diane James, whose term as Ukip leader lasted just 18 days. The new Ukip leader is due to be announced on 28 November, with nominations to replace James closing on 31 October. Contenders include Suzanne Evans, Paul Nuttall and Raheem Kassam.
Hookem has said Woolfe’s political career “was over once he showed disloyalty to the Ukip party and membership when he held talks to join the Tories”.
Woolfe had been seen as frontrunner in the race to replace Diane James, whose term as Ukip leader lasted just 18 days. The new Ukip leader will be announced on 28 November, with nominations to replace James closing on 31 October.
Among the contenders are Suzanne Evans, Paul Nuttall and Raheem Kassam. Also running is John Rees-Evans, who apologised this week over his 2014 claim that a “homosexual donkey” tried to rape his horse, describing the comments as “playful banter”.