Press Release, UK Independent Party, November 13, 2018

UKIP has received reports from party members and donors that their PayPal accounts have been suspended without explanation. The party is currently investigating the claims.

One of the members to have their account suspended is Susan Smith, a long-time party member and donor from Salisbury.

Mrs Smith said:

“I received an email a few days ago from PayPal asking ‘do you hold political office?’ to which I replied ‘no’. I am an active member but don’t hold any branch office.

“I then received a second email from PayPal asking me to send ‘proof of address’ but was not told where to send this proof. My PayPal account has now been suspended. Luckily I had no money in it at the time but was told that if it had, the money would have been frozen. I have contacted other party members and the exact same thing has happened to them.”

News of account suspensions comes on the back of the high-profile case of PayPal’s suspension of political activist Tommy Robinson without explanation.

UKIP Leader Gerard Batten said:

“Multinational corporations work hand in glove with governments to stifle political opposition and free speech. These actions by PayPal are nakedly political in nature. It’s never individuals and organisations that support the European Union, open borders and oppressive political correctness that have their accounts suspended, only those who challenge the establishment.

“Some people use PayPal to pay their bills — it’s simply wrong that big corporations can disrupt people’s lives by flicking a switch without explanation or accountability.

“I will be writing to the head of PayPal to demand an explanation for why these accounts are being shut down. As for our party member being asked if she holds political office — so what? It’s none of their business.”

“In the meantime, I call on PayPal to reinstate these accounts and behave like a responsible, politically neutral company.”

At the time of writing, the PayPal Holdings Inc. share price dropped by almost $3.00 since trading opened this morning.