Sorry. That's all it took for Ukip's socially illiberal parliamentary candidate for Ilford South to be reinstated as its London chairman after his racially inflammatory rant on Outside Left.
Sorry. Such a convenient word to utter to save your political skin and that of your party. "I saw red," he said. Enough said; matter closed.
Well sorry, Paul Wiffen, but your apology is not good enough.
Because, Paul Wiffen, you have misled us.
In a statement issued by Wiffen under the auspices of Ukip, he said: "I was very surprised to see such a party political piece on a website called 'Community Care', and when I read the lies about Ukip being a racist party, I just saw red, and fired off an angry e-mail."
As the writer of the blog, I can assure Wiffen that I did not accuse Ukip of being a racist party. I did, however, call it cynical in reference to the leaflet on asylum circulated, apparently by Ukip, in the Ribble South constituency.
Indeed, only one other person - a BNP supporter - had replied to the blog when Wiffen wrote his insulting rant. Which means that his press statement contains a serious inaccuracy and fails to explain why he made his sweeping generalisations about Romanian Gypsies, Africans and Muslims.
Wiffen added in the statement: "I am truly sorry to Mr McNabb and anyone else offended by some of the language I used."
Frankly, Mr Wiffen, I have been called worse than a "prat", a "wanker" and "scum" on this blog and, as I explained to BBC London television news last night, I don't care which words you use to describe me.
But I do have a major problem with your world view. And simply saying "sorry" to the entire Muslim population, all of Africa and all Romanian Gypsies (sorry if I generalise, but you started it) doesn't mean that your perceptions about them have changed.
Incredibly, Ukip has accepted Wiffen's flannel and reinstated him as its London chairman (he was suspended briefly). Moreover, it is allowing him to stand as their candidate in the east London constituency of Ilford South.
In justifying the retention of Wiffen, Ukip says it is a party of "real people, not career politicians". Which is just as well, because Wiffen is making a dog's breakfast out his political career.
You lefties really can't it when people start telling the truth can you? I suppose in the World according to Mike McNabb - it was white christians who blew themselves up on the 7th July 2005, not MUSLIMS.
Have you been to the Oxford Street recently? Yes big shock there are gangs of eastern europeans begging and pickpocketting.
And yes guess what - Blacks sold other Blacks into slavery
Clayton,
You really don't get it, do you? Of course it wasn't white christians blowing up London's transport system in 2005. You might remember, however, Bush's talk of a "crusade" and Blair's statement that "god would be his judge" in relation to the invasion of Iraq. Not a good advert for christianity, is it? Seven years later, western christians are still blowing up innocent people in that region.
Incredibly, Clayton, I do agree that some east Europeans do commit crime, much as some Britons do, but to claim this is typical would be wrong.
I maintain that, for a supposedly serious politician to condemn millions of people in the way Paul Wiffen has, it is inaccurate and out of order.
Mike
Wiffen says he was surprised to see such a party-political piece on a website called 'Community Care'. That -- and his comments about 'left-wing scum', etc --suggests to me that he does not understand the meaning of community care and the relevance of prejudicial language to the denial of the right to participate in service delivery and access to services. Some of the best social care workers I have known have not been UK-born-and-bred. One was from Germany, another from the Czech Republic.
Speech that is in terms of negative stereotypes and negative images -- called 'hate speech' in Allport's Scale of Prejudice -- "sets the stage for more severe outlets for prejudice."
In relation to the comments above by Clayton Ayers, I would suggest that he looks up a book called 'Understanding Islam'. The author points out that suicide bombing is a recent phenomenon and cannot be associated with the Q'ran.
And as for what has occurred under US imperialism, I would suggest that he looks up the Wikileaks report on 'Collateral Murder'.
And -- incidentally -- while I have read that Nick Griffin has claimed to the BBC that the BNP is the only UK political party to oppose the war in Afghanistan, I point out that he is ignoring the fact that the Green Party of England & Wales has long done so and factors in the savings from pulling out of that conflict in our costings. What would a 40-year stretch of UK involvement in the Afghanistan 'theatre' do to available funding for social care in the UK?
Sadly, it seems, in matters from Afghanistan to UKIP, the BBC would rather not talk to the Green Party but would rather say: "A full list of candidates in the Ilford South constituency can be found on our website."
Shame there aren't more people like Mr Wiffen. We need more people like him to tell it as it is and sort out the namby-pamby, soft, do-gooding pc brigade.
All right, then. This “UKIP” have an immigration policy that simply signs under the racist comments. It’s simple, my friends: move out from the UK everyone who is an “alien”, like Americans like to say, block the borders, avoid immigration, move out from the EU and everyone will see what UK will be in few years (including the economy, of course).
All that I put here is simply a clear translation of the UKIP immigration policies (look on their website, is everything there). But what do they want: to protect a nation or to create a new nazi system? A new isolated island like Cuba?
It’s incredible that in 2010 is possible to see things like that. Besides that, just to remember: who in the UK can be considerated so “pure race”? Study history, please: remember Roman invasions, barbarian invasions, Germanic… Who formed this nation? A blessed people who came from the skies direct from God’s hands? Come on… Who in this world can claim for a pure race? In 2010!!!! Let's be reasonable, please...
I am seeing more and more vehement support for ukip, especially in the face of incidents like these. The Telegraph's blog of the same incident reveals the same thing. I think the left wing are very scared at the moment, but every time they try to run ukip down, it blows up in their faces. This support just doesn't tie up with what we're hearing in the media.
I don't condone any sort of racism, but I do support the banning of the burka, the overhaul of the benefits system and tax system, removal from the EU and almost every other policy of Ukip. In fact their policies are so good, the other parties keep stealing them!
I think "Racism" is where you tar everybody with the same brush. But then there is also the truth. Everything Wiffen said was true - does anyone deny that? But to brand every Muslim, African or Gypsy would be wrong. Mr Wiffen has realised this and apologised. That's one reason for him not to be expelled. The other is that he didn't say anything untrue.