All the great political satirists joke about not raping people, insists Gerard Batten

UKIP leader Gerard Batten has insisted that one of his MEP candidates claiming they wouldn’t rape Labour MP Jess Phillips is the sort of thing you find throughout Jonathan Swift’s back catalogue.

After claims that fielding candidates who made their names sharing memes and being self-proclaimed edgelords on YouTube might not have been the best move for UKIP, Batten was resolute in defence of his party’s nominated MEP candidates.

He told reporters, “Carl Benjamin is what modern UKIP is all about. Staunchly anti-feminist, and fond of using the sort of phrases that get you banned from platforms like Patreon – he is everything we stand for. He is the best of us.

“Just because he said he wouldn’t rape Jess Philips you’ve all decided he’s evil. It was satire. Duh. Like those rapey bits in Gulliver’s Travels, or all the rape-related covers you see on Private Eye.

“Even the late Peter Cooks was always making jokes about people who get rape threats. But as always, it’s one rule for them, and another for UKIP.

“It’s just typical of the snowflake generation to get its knickers in a twist. It would have been bad if he said he would rape Jess Phillips, then we would have thought twice about having him as a candidate.”

UKIP voter Simon Williams has spoken out in support of his party.

He told us, “It’s just typical of the liberal media to use the things we’ve actually said to make us look bad.

“You will be saying it’s not funny to do blackface next.”