Katy Balls Katy Balls

Ukip’s Steven Woolfe ‘conscious and recovering’ after ‘altercation’ in Strasbourg

The latest Ukip leadership contest to succeed Diane James has descended into chaos after Steven Woolfe was rushed to hospital. The Ukip MEP — and leadership hopeful — is reported to have regained consciousness after an incident in European Parliament this morning.

In a statement at lunchtime, the party claimed Woolfe had been ‘taken suddenly ill in the European parliament building in Strasbourg this morning’. But was this an entirely honest version of events? Details have since emerged that suggest Woolfe was actually taken to hospital after he was punched by a party colleague — alleged to be the party’s defence spokesman Mike Hookem — at a Ukip meeting.

The Telegraph reports that following the blow to the head, Woolfe fell into glass and was sent to hospital suffering bleeding of the brain. A source claims Woolfe said he had ‘lost the feeling down one side of his body’ before losing consciousness.

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