Janice Atkinson expelled over dodgy expense claim

Janice Atkinson and her chief of staff, Christine Hewitt, have been expelled from the party over a secret recording showing Hewitt haggling with a restaurant for a higher bill to make a fraudulent expenses claim.

MEPs aren't allowed to claim expenses for food so it's either a claim by her staff or Atkinson was claiming through the EFDD group. It's unlikely that Atkinson has been expelled because her staff were doing something behind her back so presumably it's the latter.

The following statement has been released:

Janice Atkinson MEP and Christine Hewitt (assistant to Janice Atkinson) have been found to have brought the party into disrepute. As a result they have been expelled from UK Independence Party. They have 14 days to appeal.

This means that Ms Atkinson no longer represents UKIP in the European Parliament and she will no longer be our prospective parliamentary candidate for Folkestone and Hythe.