UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has said he is "very sorry" after admitting claims that he had lost close friends in the Hillsborough tragedy were false.

Paul Nuttall claims spike in hate crimes following Brexit is 'fabricated'

Exclusive: Ukip leader says incidents have been ‘overblown’ in an attempt to ‘rubbish Brexit’

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall has claimed the officially recorded spike in racist attacks following Britain’s Brexit referendum was “fabricated”. Despite police figures showing a clear rise in the number of reported hate crimes in the wake of the vote, Mr Nuttall told The Independent that such incidents had been “overblown” in an attempt to tarnish the Leave campaign’s victory.

His claims, immediately slammed by anti-racism groups, were also contradicted by new statistics published today demonstrating post-referendum hate crime soared, including in Staffordshire where Mr Nuttall is now fighting a by-election to become an MP. He is under intense pressure to prove Ukip can take on and beat Labour in its working-class heartlands by winning the crucial vote in Stoke-on-Trent next week.

But his chances have suffered embarrassing blows, including on Tuesday when he was forced to admit he had not lost “close personal friends” in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster – a claim previously made on his own website.

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Ukip leader Paul Nuttall under pressure over claims he served on charity board

Ukip leader’s website published article in 2009 saying he was joining board of North West Training Council – but CEO says he was never invited

The leader of Ukip, Paul Nuttall, has come under renewed pressure after it emerged that his website published incorrect claims that he was a board member of a vocational training charity. An article published on his website in September 2009 claimed that Nuttall had accepted an invitation to join the board of the North West Training Council (NWTC).

Nuttall, standing as Ukip’s candidate in the Stoke Central byelection on Thursday, was quoted as saying: “As a former Hugh Baird College lecturer, I feel particularly strongly about vocational courses. If facilities like this existed for youngsters when I was at school, many of my classmates would have kept on the straight and narrow.

He later said: “I was very impressed by my visit to the NWTC and have nothing but praise for their contribution. They are doing a first-class job and I am thrilled at the honour of being a board member.”

However, the organisation’s chief executive, Paul Musa, said that, while Nuttall had visited the NWTC several years ago, he had never served on the board. “Mr Nuttall was never invited to become a board member of NWTC as this would need to be a directive of the NWTC board, who he never met,” he said in an email. Nuttall’s name does not appear on any documentation filed by the NWTC with either Companies House or the Charity Commission.

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Ukip officials resign over leader Paul Nuttall's false claim that he lost 'close friends' at Hillsborough

Party is plunged into crisis, just three days before its beleaguered leader faces voters in a crunch by-election

Ukip has been plunged into crisis by the resignation of two Merseyside officials over their leader’s false comments about the Hillsborough disaster.

Paul Nuttall’s claim to have lost “close friends” in the tragedy – which he later admitted was untrue - was condemned as “intolerable” to the people of Liverpool, in a joint statement.

One of the officials walking out, Stuart Monkcom, was the chairman of Mr Nuttall’s own branch in his home city of Liverpool.

Even worse for the beleaguered leader, the statement criticising his comments goes on to say he – and major donor Arron Banks – have “demonstrated they are not fit to lead” the party.

Mr Banks tweeted he was “sick to death” of hearing about the deaths of 96 Liverpool football fans at Hillsborough, a comment Mr Nuttall refused to condemn.

The timing could not be more catastrophic, just three days before a make-or-break by-election in Stoke which Mr Nuttall was once the favourite to win.

Nevertheless, Ukip said it was braced for further resignations of both officials and members later today.

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Alan B wrote:United Kingdom Idiot Party.

DaveD wrote:

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