Ukip candidate blames 'greedy parents' for death of Syrian boy

Wimbledon Ukip candidate Peter Bucklitsch sparked anger by calling the parents of the Syrian child whose body washed up on the shores of Turkey yesterday "greedy".

Writing from what appears to be his account on Twitter, he said the parents of the boy are responsible for his death for their attempts to "queue jump" into Europe for "the good life".

The distressing image of the little boy has prompted an international outcry over the refugee crisis.

The offending tweets have not removed from the account - but the profile has been edited this afternoon to remove links to the party.

Mr Bucklitsch, a former Lib Dem candidate in Nigel Farage's target seat of South Thanet, was beaten in this year's election by incumbent Tory Stephen Hammond. Mr Hammond said the comments were "appalling and repugnant". He told the Evening Standard:

Other Twitter users went further, calling the accountant "cruel" and "vile".

Ukip said an internal investigation is underway into the incident.