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Gay News: Lesbian MEP wins sex discrimination case against UK Independence Party
By: Nigel Robinson
Nikki Sinclaire
She also claimed that Godfrey Bloom, another UKIP MEP, had called her “queer” in the European Union in Strasbourg.
Nikki Sinclaire
Lesbian MEP wins discrimination case
23 December 2010
Gay News: Lesbian MEP wins sex discrimination case against UK Independence Party
Nikki Sinclaire was expelled from UKIP by party leader Nigel Farrage after she refused to sit with UKIP’s political allies Liga Nord in the European Parliament.
Ms Sinclaire claimed that some members of the Italian party were homophobic.
She also claimed that Godfrey Bloom, another UKIP MEP, had called her “queer” in the European Union in Strasbourg.
At an employment tribunal in Exeter, a default judgment was made in her favour after UKIP failed to lodge a defence.
Ms Sinclaire, who now sits as an Independent MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, said that she was “extremely pleased” with the tribunal’s decision.
“The treatment I received from UKIP is a sad indictment of how politics in the UK has not kept up with the twenty-first century,” she said.
“I feel betrayed by the party, When I joined UKIP in 1994 it certainly wasn’t a career move. I did my bit in building UKIP up to second in a national election and they have repaid me with discrimination.”
UKIP denies discriminating against Ms Sinclaire and said that its failure to lodge its defence was due to an administrative error. It has since applied for the judgment to be set aside.
In statement it said: “The respondents have always intended to defend this case vigorously and the application is accompanied by a robust response challenging almost every aspect of her case, including the tribunal’s jurisdiction.”
