Ukip whip removed from Godfrey Bloom over 'sluts' row

Godfrey Bloom. Credit: PA

The UK Independence Party has removed the whip from MEP Godfrey Bloom after he called women "sluts" at a fringe event and hit a journalist over the head with his party conference brochure.

The MEP has defended branding women "sluts" during the party event which was designed to increase the number of women in politics.

ITV News Political Correspondent Romilly Weeks reports:

Mr Bloom said female Ukip members joked that they did not clean behind the fridge and he responded by saying "this place is full of sluts".

The Huffington Post UK has an audio recording of the incident.

He defended branding women "sluts" during a party event, and when he was questioned about using the term, Mr Bloom said:

He also took to Twitter to claim it was an "outrageous joke among friends".

The controversial Ukip MEP also hit a Channel 4 News correspondent over the head with a copy of his party's conference guide and called him a racist after being asked why there were no ethnic minorities on the front of the brochure:

Ukip leader Nigel Farage later said that Mr Bloom had ruined the party's conference.