UKIP leader's girlfriend suspended for racist text on Meghan

The xenophobic and eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party on Sunday said it had suspended the girlfriend of its leader Henry Bolton for having sent racist messages about Meghan Markle, who is soon to marry Prince Harry.

Bolton, who was chosen to lead the party in September, said his girlfriend, Jo Marney, had been immediately suspended after the messages were exposed by the Mail on Sunday, Efe news agency reported.

According to the tabloid, Marney had said that Markle's "seed will taint our royal family", called her a "gender equality twat" and said the wedding could lead to a black King or a Muslim Prime Minister, which she claimed was the result of other cultures invading the UK.

The UKIP leader in the London Assembly, Peter Whittle, defended her expulsion from the party.

In a statement sent to the Mail on Sunday, Marney apologised for her comments but said she was exaggerating to make a point and had been taken out of context.

Harry and Markle, an American actress known for her role in the television series "Suits", announced last December that they would be getting married on May 19.

--IANS

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