Reports are coming out of Chechnya, about the arrests, imprisonment, torture and in some cases murder of gay men. Paul Nuttall, the UKIP leader has condemned the actions of the Putin backed warlord Ramzan Kadyrov,

“If these reports are true, and it looks like they are, then the Government must protest in the strongest manner.

“Just because the warlord of this Islamic fiefdom is an ally of Putin should not blind us to the horrific abuse of human rights being perpetrated.

“Putin claims to oppose Isis and its blend of fundamentalism in Syria but seems to be impervious to decency. He has the power to stop this inhumanity. The Government should demand that he does.”

Today’s announcement that the Conservative Government will be pressing ahead with the Option C, Variant 3 option for a new Lower Thames Crossing, which will devastate the local community in Thurrock, is incredibly disappointing.

Cllr Tim Aker MEP said: “Highways England received their largest number of responses in any consultation in objection to another Thames Crossing. Their persistence shows that this was a sham consultation, a PR exercise by a Government with its fingers in its ears.

“Thurrock suffers from high pollution levels, congestion and infrastructure under strain as it is. Adding more traffic to this will destroy the standard of living we have here in Thurrock. This new crossing will cost billions and will only take 14% of traffic from the Dartford Crossing. As our population increases and new pull factors on the borough emerge, this will do nothing. Nothing about the Government’s ridiculous plans make sense. They just want to dump on Thurrock – again.

UKIP’s Northern Ireland Councillors have called for all unionist parties to enter into serious talks about united unionist election strategies to maximise the pro-union vote in any future elections.

“Northern Ireland’s position within the United Kingdom is a matter which over-rides the marginal differences which now separate the unionist parties. It is a matter which all pro-union parties must address in the light of Sinn Fein’s devious attempts to link opposition to Brexit to a vote for a united Ireland.

Paul Nuttall, the UKIP leader has condemned the missile attack on Syria as, “rash, trigger happy, nonsensical and will achieve nothing.”

“The whole world rightly condemns the use of chemical weapons in Syria, but the US attack on the Assad regime does nothing to lower tensions, nor will it hasten peace in that country.

“Too often rash responses to horrific situations are about the conscience of the attacker, rather than a clear-headed response to an awful situation.

UKIP Chairman Paul Oakden said, “We are disappointed to hear that Mark Reckless has decided to leave UKIP in order to join the Conservatives in the Welsh Assembly.

“When Mark joined UKIP in 2014 we admired his long-term commitment to Brexit and his decision to put his country first.

“Having been elected as a Conservative in Rochester & Strood, Mark didn’t think it right to sit as an MP for another party without asking the electorate for their endorsement in a by-election. A position that was right as it was honourable. In the campaign that followed, our membership worked incredibly hard to ensure that Mark retained his seat.