Paul Turner, UKIP candidate in the Bristol mayoral elections, has told the Cable that Bristol-based millionaire Arron Banks should resign from the party. Turner went on to say that UKIP should return Banks’ £1 million donation. The statement follows the Panama Paper leak, in which the Guardian revealed that Arron Banks is connected to an offshore company registered to the tax haven that is the British Virgin Islands.
Speaking to the Cable, Paul Turner said,
“If he’s found to have done something wrong, then yes we should look at saying yes, we don’t want this money.”
Asked if Arron Banks should resign from the party, Turner said,
“if it’s found that the law or the spirit of the law was not abided to, then I personally, I can’t speak for the party or the leadership of the party, but yes, I’d personally ask him to resign.”
The former Tory donor Arron Banks has given more than £1 million to UKIP and has been supporting the LeaveEU campaign. As reported by the Guardian, Banks “appears as the shareholder of a BVI company called PRI Holdings Limited. Shares from PRI were also transferred to Elizabeth Bilney, the chief executive of leave.eu. PRI Holdings is in turn the sole shareholder of African Strategic Resources Limited, which is a British Virgin Islands company managed in Gibraltar.”
Full interview out soon
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News » Reports » Watch: shock statement by UKIP mayoral candidate
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I’m not sure what the shock is, I would have thought all the Mayoral candidates would say the same about any individual or organisation that has supported them or the party they represent. But how many actually will say it ?
Paul Turner
UKIP Mayoral candidate for Bristol