What now for Mike Nattrass?

Back in March, Nikki Sinclaire resigned from the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) Group in the EU Parliament.  She had the whip withdrawn and now sits as an Independent MEP.

In June, her fellow West Midlands MEP, Mike Nattrass followed her lead and resigned from the EFD Group.  He hasn't had the whip withdrawn though.

Now, the circumstances are slightly different, I admit.  Nikki was undermining the party from the inside, fighting a propaganda war using several members as proxies and her staff were using members' details to register new user accounts on the UKIP members forum to cause trouble.

Mike, on the other hand, has refrained from outright warfare with the party but is that reason enough to allow him to keep the whip?  If rumours of an impending court case from Nikki are true - and I am frankly amazed that she hasn't already tried to sue the party - then this inconsistent treatment is bound to be one of her main arguments for whatever it is she thinks she's going to achieve.