WELSH Ukip candidate John Rees-Jones brushed off homophobic comments made by a fellow election hopeful, telling opponents at the weekend that his horse had been “raped” by a “homosexual donkey.”
The Cardiff South and Penarth candidate Mr Rees-Jones was part of a clutch of Ukip activists who confronted a group of protesters outside the party’s Merthyr Tydfil offices.
Mr Rees-Jones was challenged to respond to a series of embarrassing quotes from party figures.
One campaigner read out the statement: “Some homosexuals prefer sex with animals,” which led to the suspension of Ukip branch chairwoman Julia Gasper.
He responded: “Actually I’ve witnessed that.”
After being told the footage was “all going up on YouTube tomorrow,” Mr Rees-Jones related a story in which “a homosexual donkey raped my horse.
“I was personally quite amazed, I’ve got a horse, it was in the fields, and a donkey came up … a donkey came up which is male, and I’m afraid tried to rape my horse,” he said.
“So in this case he’s obviously correct because the homosexual donkey [recording unclear] but I don’t think that’s what she meant but it’s a coincidence.”
In an attempt to explain his comments to the Star, Mr Rees-Jones, who claims he is a “libertarian,” said: “This isn’t an area of expertise or interest to me, but I believe that sexual relationships shouldn’t be policed — and this is the key thing — so long as there is consent.”
Harriet Protheroe-Davis, the activist who organised the anti-Ukip demo, said: “Comments like these from Ukip councillors are exactly why we held our demonstration.
“Many people have argued that they are voting Ukip because they are the only party that tackles the issues of the EU, but you cannot separate Ukip from its overall ideology. This ideology being one of prejudice, racism, sexism and evidently homophobia.”
This latest gaffe comes after Ukip chairman Steve Crowther urged candidates to boycott Twitter to avoid more embarrassing incidents.
Mr Crowther suggested a “just don’t” policy for social media.
Ukip is hoping to win parliamentary seats in a general election for the first time next year.