He calls MEP-hopeful Carl Benjamin 'not a bad person' and 'proponent of free speech'.
The leader of UKIP has defended an election candidate who said they"wouldn't even rape" Labour MP Jess Phillips.
Gerard Batten called the comment"satire" and praised Carl Benjamin, who was last week picked as an MEP candidate for the South West region.Mr Batten defended the post, telling the BBC's Andrew Marr Show:"I think this was satire."Describing the candidate as"a classical liberal", Mr Batten said:"I don't know the exact context of that and I certainly don't condone any remarks like that but he is not a bad person as he's being portrayed.
Mr Benjamin - a YouTuber with a large following - reportedly sent the tweet in 2016 when responding to Ms Phillips having written:"People talking about raping me isn't fun, but has become somewhat par for the course."
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