The protesters who disrupted Paul Nuttall’s press conference this morning are die-hard Socialist Workers Party activists and their leader was embroiled in the notorious rape cover-up that blighted the hard-left group. Weyman Bennett led a small number of protesters who shouted and waved placards at UKIP’s campaign launch at the Marriott County Hall. The protesters did not deny their SWP background but told Guido: “A large number of groups are involved in Stand Up to Racism“. Asked if they were veteran agitators one joked: “It’s not my first protest”…

A member of the SWP’s central committee, Bennett was implicated in the cover-up of well-publicised rape allegations against an ultra-left ally referred to as “Comrade Delta“. The police were kept out, the accused was declared “ not guilty ”  at the SWP national conference and the case led to Jeremy Corbyn being criticised for sharing a platform with Bennett.

Today Bennett and his fellow protesters shouted obscenities and chased away journalists covering the event, after UKIP’s patient press officers politely asked them to leave. Real nasty pieces of work…