The girlfriend of the leader of the radical pro-Brexit British political party UKIP made a series of racist remarks about Meghan Markle, sending texts to a friend in which she said Prince Harry’s “black American” fiancée will “taint” the royal family with “her seed” and pave the way for a “black king.” Harry and Meghan are due to marry on May 19.
UKIP rose to influence on the British political landscape under former leader Nigel Farage as a single-issue party campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union, but has seen its influence wane following the mainstream political parties’ adoption of its core message after the Brexit referendum.
In the 2017 election UKIP failed to win a single seat in parliament.
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The texts were sent by Jo Marney, the 25-year-old girlfriend of Henry Bolton, the current leader of the party, for whom Mr. Bolton recently left his wife.
Marney, a former glamour model, was suspended from UKIP last night, after The Mail on Sunday alerted party chiefs to her comments.
In Marney’s messages, which she allegedly sent to a male friend just three weeks before starting her relationship with Mr. Bolton late last year, she describes Markle, whose mother is black and whose father is white, as “a scrubber” and a “gender equality twat” who is “obsessed with race” and a “dumb little commoner.”
In the text messages Marney writes, “Next will be a Muslim PM. And a black king.”
After being confronted with her texts by The Mail on Sunday last night, Ms. Marney apologized for her comments, which she claimed had been “taken out of context.”
In a statement, she said: “I apologize unreservedly for the shocking language I used. The opinions I expressed were deliberately exaggerated in order to make a point and have, to an extent, been taken out of context. Yet I fully recognize the offense they have caused.
“No offense was intended and, again, I apologize unreservedly for any such offense or hurt that my messages have caused to members of the public, members of UKIP my friends, family and loved ones.”
Mr. Farage quit his role as leader of UKIP after the high-water mark of the 2016 Brexit referendum, saying he had achieved his political ambition. Since then, the party has struggled with poll ratings typically in the low single figures.
