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THE UKIP MEP who ended up in hospital after a row with a colleague has released a statement saying his injuries support his claim that he was attacked.
Steven Woolfe said a medical examination revealed he suffered injuries to his face, head and body. His statement was released to Sky News after the other politician involved, MEP Mike Hookem, said it was Woolfe who started the fight.
Here’s what the statement said:
“A team of experts independent of the hospital staff were called in to examine physical injuries to Steven’s face, head and body that were inconsistent with just a seizure or a fall as a result of a seizure.
“The team of experts also examined other pieces of evidence including clothing and images relating to those injuries.
Their report will shine a different light on claims currently being made in the media.
Additionally sources told Sky News that the medical examination of Woolfe revealed bruising on his face consistent with a punch and bruising on the back of the head consistent with a fall.
Leadership woes
49-year-old Woolfe this week launched a bid to lead the party after Diane James, elected just last month, unexpectedly quit after just 18 days at the helm.
Hookem’s remarks accusing him of starting the fight prompted claims from other party members that Woolfe was unfit to be leader.
Thursday’s dispute at the European Parliament broke out after Woolfe, a former barrister who grew up in a deprived area of Manchester, admitted that he had considered joining the Conservative Party following the Brexit vote.
“Mike came at me and landed a blow,” Woolfe was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying from his hospital bed. But Hookem said Woolfe had started the fight, challenging him to go “mano a mano”.
“He came at me. I defended myself. There were no punches thrown,” said Hookem, a military veteran.
UKIP’s interim leader Nigel Farage, whose resignation announcement after the June vote to leave the EU brought party tensions to the surface, has announced an internal investigation.
Farage on Thursday said the fight was “one of these things that happens between men”.
“You see third world parliaments where this sort of thing happens,” he told reporters near the hospital.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz also initiated an investigation, saying that the reported facts were “extremely serious” and “disrespectful and violent behaviour” had no place in the parliament.
Woolfe was rushed to hospital and initially said to be in a serious condition after suffering two “epileptic-like fits” and passing out.
French police have not been asked to investigate.
It’s expected Woolfe will remain in hospital until tomorrow for observation.
With reporting from © AFP 2016
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Is he paying for the hospital himself? Or is he going to leech free healthcare off the French taxpayer like his party says foreigners do in the UK?
That’s the funniest part. Since it’s still pre-Brexit he’s an EU citizen and as such entitled to free healthcare in France.
The UKIP politician is getting this care free because the UK’s in the EU.
The ironing is delicious.
I’d imagine there’s hardly an inch of that building not covered by either cameras or recording devices be they legal or illegal. It’s only a matter of time before a recording pops up somewhere…
i wish no man harm, but…..u have to laugh the fact that he is receiving free health care, as an EU Citizen in an EU Country!!
Oh the Irony!
More ironic than this sh*te!
An Old man, turned 98, he won the lottery….and died the next day….its a black fly, in you chardonnay……
Fighting over who’s more racist. Like Farage vs Trump.
Like I said before these Ukip yobs did their training as soccer hooligans years ago.Thugs in suits. Nobody should be wasting any time on them. Should be deported back to brexitland.
Farage compares UKIP to a third world parliament
Yet the same bel lend wont report to police
What happens in UKIP,stays in UKIP.
@Aidan Duggan: usually that is true. They regard fisticuffs as the way to sort out arguments. They are primitive and reactionary.
Not a scratch or a bruise on him yet he’s hooked up to monitors and got a full medical team examining.
Reminds me of that scene from the Simpsons after Mr Burns hit Bart and they take him to Dr Nick and Lionel Hultz . See this black smudge, whiplash…. and this part that looks like my fingerprint. That’s trauma!
Bootboys of the far right have an internal ding dong to sort out a dispute.
Much worse has happened in that “party”.
He was caught with a left Hookem then!!!
Is that what happened his face and I thought he always looked like that.
What a whinging little coward.
It’s good to know your limits. Never bite off more than you can chew
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