Steven Woolfe has attacked UKIP’s ruling body as unfit to run the party after they banished him from the race to succeed Nigel Farage on a technicality.
Woolfe, an MEP and migration spokesman for the party, was tipped by many as the favourite to become its new leader.
But he was sensationally ejected from the race on Wednesday after the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) decided he couldn’t stand because he submitted his application 17 minutes late.
Speaking after the decision, Woolfe said he was “extremely disappointed” to be prohibited from running and accused the NEC of incompetence, branding them “not fit for purpose”.
He said: “I am extremely disappointed by the UKIP NEC decision to exclude me from the party’s leadership election.
“Having been a committed member of UKIP, standing for the party in multiple elections, acting as a spokesman at the highest level, I wanted to take this opportunity to stand for Leader to inject my ideas, plans and passion into the party.
“Over the course of this leadership election, the NEC has proven it is not fit for purpose and it confirmed many member’s fears that it is neither effective nor professional in the way it governs the party.
“The NEC panel have even accepted that they were wrong to raise questions of my membership of the party, as I have been a full member since 2011.
“They did not identify my payments in the UKIP records until I showed them my own bank statements. After providing evidence of the payments and donations I have made to the party, they were satisfied this was not an issue.
“They have failed to accept that there were serious issues with the application system despite providing evidence that attempts of submission were made before the deadline. The NEC deny this is the fault of the UKIP system.
“Furthermore, highly confidential information about me held in party documents has been leaked to the press and the NEC has not sought to investigate this gross breach of privacy.
“If I were on the ballot, I would have fought to reform the internal structure of UKIP including the NEC. UKIP must professionalise and it cannot do that with an unfit NEC.”
