Ukip says Theresa May shares the blame for Manchester attack for failing to stop suicide bomber returning to UK

Ukip says Theresa May shares the blame for the Manchester attack, because she failed to prevent the suicide bomber from returning to Britain.

Paul Nuttall – fighting off claims that the party he leads is heading for oblivion – condemned the Prime Minister’s “appalling” record on fighting crime and terror.

“It is also a dereliction of duty to allow jihadis to return to this country, including it seems, Monday night’s terrorist,” he said, launching the Ukip manifesto.

The controversial claim follows intelligence briefings that Salman Abedi, the Manchester suicide bomber, moved to Libya, before returning to Britain as recently as last week.

Suzanne Evans, Ukip’s deputy chairman, added that Ms May “must bear some responsibility” for the deadly attack, because she forced through police cuts and failed to cut immigration.

“Theresa May has allowed jihadists who fought alongside Islamic State back into our country. She has failed to prevent extremists spreading hatred in our universities and our mosques,” Ms Evans added.

Mr Nuttall was also accused of insulting the grieving relatives and friends of the Manchester victims, after saying: “It is not good enough to light candles and say we will not be beaten”.

Answering questions, he replied: “I’m not insulting people. People have a right to light candles and to share their grief on Twitter – but for politicians it’s not enough.”

And, on his comments about jihadis, he said: “I’m not accusing the Prime Minister. I’m saying politicians have been weak on this issue for many, many years.”

The rowdy manifesto launch – at which Ukip activists heckled journalists aggressively – included proposals to:

• Confiscate passports and citizenship from “anyone who leaves this country to fight for Islamic State”;

• Reduce net migration to zero within five years – under a “one in, one out” policy;

• Ban the flying of the EU flag from public buildings after Brexit – and make the referendum day of 23 June a bank holiday as an “Independence Day”;

• Pump an extra £11bn a year for the NHS and social care by the end of the next parliament, funded by cuts in foreign aid;

• Abolish the House of Lords, replacing it with an English parliament, and introduce proportional representation for the Commons;

• Ban the wearing of burqas in public; and

• Abolish tuition fees for students studying STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and medicine, while bringing back maintenance grants for the poorest students.

But the launch was dominated by Mr Nuttall’s attack on Ms May’s record as Home Secretary, saying: “She has put pressure on the police to lower the numbers of stops and searches they carry out.

“And no progress whatever was made reducing the level of immigration in order to give social cohesion a chance to advance.”

The event was undermined by Ukip activists turning on Mr Nuttall after the party plunged to as low as three per cent in the polls, with the general election a fortnight away.

One candidate in Rotherham told the BBC the leader had “added to the chaos” – calling on him to quit after the election – while a former activist branded him an idiot.