Ukip have announced an ‘internet troll’ as one of their lead candidates for the forthcoming European elections.

Carl Benjamin, who has a history of criticising feminism, Islam and political correctness, is among the ‘top candidates’ for the right-wing group.

The self-styled free speech activist joined Ukip last year and will stand in the South West region.

Carl Benjamin is a British YouTuber, political commentator and anti-feminist (Picture: Wikipedia)

Benjamin, 39, uses the alias Sargon of Akkad and has nearly 1,000,000 subscribers.


He has been banned from Twitter for his views and in 2016 caused outrage by sending a rape tweet to Labour MP Jess Phillips.

In 2016 he tweeted ‘I wouldn’t even rape you’ to the Labour MP Jess Phillips, in a message featuring the tag #feminismiscancer.



Phillips said she subsequently received 600 rape threats.

He has also used racially-charged language online and was removed from the crowdfunding website Patreon because of ‘hate speech.’

Benjamin calls himself a ‘classic liberal’ and has ranted about the left.

During an online chat with Tommy Robinson, he rejected the idea that the terrorist who killed 50 people at mosques in Christchurch had been radicalised by far-right groups on the internet.

Ukip stormed to victory in the 2014 European elections, polling 27% of the vote and securing 24 seats.

They are now left with just seven MEPs after a number left because of in-fighting and the party’s lurch to the right.

Ukip leader Gerard Batten has been accused of moving the party even further to the right (Picture: Getty)

Leader Gerard Batten has come under fire for appointing EDL founder Robinson as an adviser to the group.

The far right-winger had wanted to stand to be an MEP but is banned from holding Ukip party membership because of his past.

Batten requested that the National Executive Committee reconsider who it admits as members but the vote was delayed because it was deemed a distraction from Brexit.

Speaking of the shortlist, Batten said: ‘We went through an exhaustive process to sift over 190 potential candidates down to those the National Executive Committee representatives and I felt were most suitable.

‘This list is based on a number of factors that we felt would select candidates to fight for a real Brexit after the European elections. UKIP’s priority is to have MEPs who will fight to make Brexit happen.’

Ukip said they will release a full list of candidates soon.

It could still include Mark Meechan, who was fined £800 after filming a pet dog giving Nazi salutes.

The party face an uphill struggle to attract votes against former leader Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party.

The charismatic frontman claims to have managed to get £750,000 in donations in just ten days.

Ukip has struggled for money in recent years but claim they are the original Brexit party and will fight to ensure that the UK does leave the EU.

David Lawrence from Hope Not Hate, which monitors hard-right groups, said: ‘Benjamin has a history of using vile racist terms and misogynist politics, so it’s hardly surprising he would stand for Ukip given how far right they’ve shifted over the past few years.

‘They sound like the perfect fit.’