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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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No thanks, I’ll continue living with Covid like a grown up.
@Stephen O’Neill: Whining like a baby over having to wear a mask for a few minutes in a shop or on public transport if needed isn’t living like a grown up.
@Seán Ó Briain: u wesr one so but I won’t…ysepublic transport s lot and yes…when I’m in town I’m.not wandering around outside…I’m inside…so will have to wear a mask a lot, not a few minutes!
@Damien Leen: Wow!
@Seán Ó Briain: One needs to understand how the world works, how tyranny breeds, how freedoms are slowly encroached upon. Lose your naievity.
@Damien Leen: But why exactly is it an issue to wear one?
It’s no different than wearing a hood when it’s raining imo – and I HATE head coverings with a passion…yet I still wear a hood when it’s necessary.
@Stephen O’Neill: well I am glad we have noted your “expert” opinion on the subject..
@Patricia Thomond Sarsfield: you’re posting on the wrong article. The Russian invasion of Ukraine story is below. This article concerns the harmless precautionary measure of wearing a face mask in confined spaces to protect the health of others.
@Patricia Thomond Sarsfield: lose your tin foil hat. It’s a mask, not a scarlet letter.
@Patricia Thomond Sarsfield: Would you stop acting like a yank with that nonsense. Having to wear PPE during a pandemic for public safety isn’t having your “freedoms slowly encroached upon”.
@Patricia Thomond Sarsfield:
Hilarious.
@GrumpyAulFella:
You can lead a horse to water….
@Seán Ó Briain: *being told
@Damien Leen: Sorry, what? I’ve met lads without a word of English who are easier to understand than you.
@Damien Leen: its his choice isn’t it?
There is no law telling people to wear masks except in healthcare.
If you can’t comment like a grown up don’t comment at all. Your best ignored
@Ciaran: he wasn’t giving his expert opinion.
as the saying goes and all the lefties say her body her choice, well its HIS body and his choice. The majority of those in hospitals are unvaccinated regardless.
@GrumpyAulFella: a 30 cent piece of cloth won’t protect you. You need a medical grade mask
@GrumpyAulFella: Can you define, in this instance, your meaning of the word harmless? Thanks
@Séamus Heffernan: sorry was at work typing quickly…do you work or lounge around doing nothing besides pointing out grammatical errors…clown!
@Damien Leen: well theres no surprise there with that, Damien.
@Damien Leen: how’s that quad looking, Damo?
@Seán Ó Briain: But what comes next?
Bring back €9 pub meals. The only way to flatten the curve
@Ian Moylan: Next two weeks are crucial
Shove it
@Aonghus O Flaherty: You’re some rebel in fairness – I bet you eat after eight mints at half past seven…
@Lee King Buckett: comment of the week…. After eights..!! Nice one
@Aonghus O Flaherty: Why? Would it really be that bad if they asked you to wear a mask on public transport, in supermarkets etc.? It’s not the end of the world – although dying is!
@Jim Buckley Barrett: don’t wanna.
@v39e84kK: Is this the baby from the profile picture commenting or the adult?
@OnlyHereForTheComments: just not doing it bro.
@Lee King Buckett: sometimes
@v39e84kK: Am not your bro, pal.
@Jim Buckley Barrett: Do we not all die at some stage?
@Jim Buckley Barrett: they can ask you (but if it’s not written into law they can’t make you wear one)
@Alan Richard Scott Jr.: and you are legally obliged to start streaming on facebook live in this instance citing non-existent subsections of the constitution to someone just trying to get through the working day.
Never stopped wearing mine. This was always going to happen.
@Valerie: nor did I but now I get funny looks for wearing one
@Valerie: same Valerie. They’re a serious pain, let’s be honest but I generally wear it for others, not myself.
@Jen Mc: lol
@Jen Mc: Not really a pain are they? Takes 2 seconds to put one on. It’s a mask you’re wearing, not a hazmat suit.
@Seán Ó Briain: you can forget one, your mask can get dirty, you can be short of breath wearing one while exerting yourself. They are a pain. But I’ll continue to wear mine either way.
Because the worked last time ya……
Nothing but a comfort blanket for the weak minded.
@@TIRED: much like conspiracy theories!
@@TIRED: Considering I’ve yet to catch covid… I’d say something worked.
@Mirabelle Stonegate: ever heard of asymptomatic ? How do you know you’ve never had it. Where I work we had PCR tests every week, we had a number of staff test positive with zero symptoms.
@@TIRED: The virus is smarter than you.
Communism. Totalitarian.
@Michael Holland: Yes, this is exactly like Stalin’s Russia….
@Rui Firmino: Of course, this is only going to be for 2 weeks.
@Michael Holland: Another genius who doesn’t know what communism is.
@Michael Holland: You’re clueless
@Michael Holland:
The fruit loops are back out in force I see….
@Michael Holland: Eejit, economics has nothing to do with protecting everyone’s health.
Great. It worked so well the first time, we only had 10,000s of cases at one point
@Oisín McGovern: good to see that after two years we still have a cohort who haven’t a clue.
@Oisín McGovern: Yes so you can only imagine how many more thousands of cases we’d have had without them.
@Fozz: Explain?
Mask wearing should never have been stood down in certain public spaces. It would have been respectful to those who are immunocompromised instead of playing ads on television asking people to respect the pregnant chef and diabetic retail worker. Cart before the horse type messaging from HSE.
Dictatorship coming, after the summer, break first.
French government also talking about introducing restrictions. Looks like we are not yet out of woods.
@lelookcoco: mask wearing isn’t a restriction…..it’s a common sense approach to vastly reducing a spread if everyone plays their part in wearing one.
@HarveyLemonade: That’s not what he said though.
@lelookcoco: Very naive if you thought we were out of the woods. Prob be a wave in sept/oct when schools go back and the darker evenings then another one around Christmas….. Just because were not bombarded by it in the news anymore doesn’t mean its gone.
The wheel on the bus goes around around around around
COVID is no longer a killer virus so they can shove them where the sun dont shine.
Quick, buy toilet roll….
Does anybody know why our TDs think this is something Irish adults want or need?
@Patricia Thomond Sarsfield:
Lots of Irish adults don’t want to pay car tax, PAYE tax, VAT, inheritance tax etc. the government rightly ignores them and implements. If you want to live “freely” then buy a log cabin in Alaska, a rifle, an American flag & a one way ticket.
@Kevin: I honestly think this country would be a better place if those that keep telling their fellow citizens to leave the country because they’ve got a different opinion would just be quiet. Please just be quiet, nobody likes a fascist.
@Patricia Thomond Sarsfield: Yes. You would too if you read a newspaper instead of being a keyboard warrior.
Close the pubs
I use putlblic transport a lot and I’ve never stopped wearing them there.. I hate wearing them but they’re common sense. Although looking at some of the comments on here it seems common sense isn’t that common.
Here we go again!
Back to the future, it is getting out of hand again,stay safe.
TV3 think tank is figuring out how to make a daily number count out of this.
@ChadChaderson: I hope your not waiting for news on TV3 as its long gone.
Over half of hospitalisations are unvaxxed and the rest have severe underlying conditions.
It’s a mild variant. I doubt masks will be required anytime soon.
@Fergal McDonagh: 45% of those hospitalised have had their booster. 21% of those hospitalised have had 2 does of the vaccine and 35% of those hospitalised have had 1 dose of the vaccine.
Very very few are ‘unvaxxed’, in the traditional sense.
I hope the opposition parties and the independents don’t agree with this,if u want to wear a mask,but why should everyone suffer for the few,they are on about how bad the lockdowns were on young people and kids mental health,but it’s ok to make 3 and 4 year Olds wear masks again,they need to know,these masks didn’t just effect the young people,I’m 53 disabled autoimmune compromised,i have no family,I done my shopping once a fortnight,saw no one when I was at home,and on shopping day it was worse,coz u would see people u know coming towards you,and all u want is a chat for a few mins with the different people u know,all I got was hello,I swear my mental health has suffered so much,that I feel so alone in my life.its people like me they need to talk too.
It’s gas how a little piece of fabric can trigger off so many people here.
If you are still in doubt as to continuing threat of the “in- flew -enza” / virus , then read Dr.Muiris Houston’s article in the I.T. this week..
Hopefully I can afford the price of a mask this winter!
Open the pubs
Nabarro doesn’t seem to understand how masks work
They’re not too concerned about public health, are they? Sure what’s the rush waiting until after their holidays.
Many people wear them pandemic or no pandemic. I’d say those who do this would be seriously confused by The Journal’s comment section.
These threads are an immense way of identifying those who are very worthy of the mute button.
Good !!!
have your say