Arron Banks defends 'sick of hearing about Hillsborough' remarks

Arron Banks, the Ukip donor, has defended his comments on Twitter that he was “sick to death” of hearing about the Hillsborough disaster, calling the criticism a smear campaign.

The Leave.EU founder posted his tweets after Ukip’s leader, Paul Nuttall, was forced to admit he did not lose “close personal friends” in the disaster, contrary to claims on his website. Banks said on Wednesday he believed criticism of him and Nuttall was politically motivated.

Over the weekend two Ukip branch chairmen resigned, saying they were disgusted by the comments about the footballing disaster, which killed 96 Liverpool fans. Nuttall also distanced himself from Banks.

Banks told BBC Radio 5 Live that he stuck by what he said on Twitter when he defended Nuttall, a candidate in the Stoke-on-Trent byelection this week.

“It’s a Labour smear campaign,” Banks said. “Yes, I am sick to death of hearing about Hillsborough. The politicisation of it by the Labour party is atrocious. I know the people up in Liverpool probably get hot under the collar for those comments, but as far as I’m concerned, I stick by what I said.”

Of Hillsborough, Banks said it was “wrong it was covered up ... but for the Labour party to politicise it was a disgrace”.

Banks said he did not believe Nuttall had made a significant error with the comments on his website. “It had been on his website since 2011. You know what happens in politics,” he said. “The Labour party goes through whatever anyone’s ever said, and then brings it up in the last week of a byelection.”

Nuttall, who has insisted he was at the ground on the day of the disaster, said he spent three hours on Monday giving an official witness statement to the police investigation into Hillsborough.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live on Monday: “It is part of a wider smear campaign started last Friday whereby there was a claim I wasn’t at the Hillsborough disaster, even though I provided witness statements I was there and spent three hours yesterday morning at Operation Resolve giving a witness statement.”

Nuttall is fighting Labour’s Gareth Snell for the Stoke-on-Trent Central seat, which Labour holds by a majority of 5,179, but his campaign has been dogged by the controversy over his Hillsborough comments. He said he wanted to put his comments “in perspective”, insisting he had been present at the disaster, despite surprise expressed in comments to the Guardian by a former schoolmate and teacher.