UKIP leader Henry Bolton loses confidence vote

The national executive of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) voted unanimously on Sunday to remove scandal-hit Henry Bolton as party leader.

The 54-year-old will now face another no-confidence vote by the party's entire membership. UKIP's ruling committee said that poll would be held within 28 days "unless Henry Bolton resigns in the meantime."

Bolton, who was elected UKIP leader in September, has resisted several calls for him to step down after a British newspaper reported that his now former girlfriend Jo Marney made highly offensive comments about US actor and Prince Harry's fiancee, Meghan Markle.

A text message exchange between Marney and a friend, published last week in the Mail on Sunday, showed the 25-year-old model saying that Markle's "seed" would "taint our royal family."

Marney also said "I wouldn't with a negro," and "this is Britain, not Africa," and responded with "lol, so what?" when challenged for being racist. Marney later apologized but says her words were taken out of context.

Bolton, who left his wife Tatiana, 42, before his relationship with Marney became public in January, has since said that he has ended his "romantic" ties to the model.

The embattled leader has also insisted that he plans to keep his job, telling ITV's Peston On Sunday: "I don't believe I have done anything wrong."

The former soldier warned UKIP that forcing him out would mean "the party is probably over" and that a contest to pick his replacement "would be financially almost unviable."

Bolton is the pro-Brexit party's third leader since high-profile politician Nigel Farage stepped down in November 2016.

nm/rc (AFP, EFE)