Steven Woolfe and MEP Mike Hookem who ‘knocked him out’ face suspension and expenses cut after EU Parliament brawl
Leadership favourite Woolfe was allegedly punched in the face by Ukip defence spokesperson Mike Hookem MEP
STEVEN Woolfe and the MEP who "knocked him out" face suspension and having their expenses cut after their EU Parliament brawl.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz has referred the fight to the advisory committee for the code of conduct.
The committee will investigate the fight and present a report to Shulz, who has clashed with Farage and UKIP in the past.
He will decide on a sanction, which could include suspension and cuts on the MEPs' per diem expenses.
MEPs receive 304 euros a day just for turning up.
Punishments range from a written warning to suspension.
UKIP leadership favourite Steven Woolfe was knocked out in a brawl with a fellow MEP over claims he considered defecting to the Tories.
The married dad of one, 49, banged his head on a metal bar after allegedly being punched in the face by former friend and ex-commando Mike Hookem, 62.
Mr Woolfe got up and walked off but collapsed two hours later at the European Parliament’s HQ in Strasbourg, France. : “Mike came at me and landed a blow. He was obviously very angry and lost his temper.
“I wasn’t bruising for a scrap. I asked to deal with the matter outside the room because it was upsetting everybody in our meeting.
“Mike clearly read that totally the wrong way. The door frame took the biggest hit after I was shoved into it. I knew I’d taken a whack and was pretty shaken.”
Mr Hookem said: “I did not hit Steven nor see him hit his head.”
A pal insisted it was a verbal altercation, adding: “Mr Woolfe told Mike they should ‘go outside and deal with this man on man’.
“Steven threw the first punch. He tripped over his own feet and fell over. It was all pretty schoolyard.
“There is no indication at all that he hit his head.”
Mr Woolfe and party defence spokesman Mr Hookem clashed shortly after Ukip MEPs met for “clear the air” talks at 10am.
The altercation was broken up by another MEP. Mr Woolfe then went to a voting session at noon. He left after 20 minutes but collapsed on a walkway after an epileptic-style fit.
The moment was captured by an ITV news crew.
Party officials feared Mr Woolfe had suffered bleeding on the brain.
He was sedated for a mini seizure and it was reported his condition was life-threatening.
He later recovered enough to give a thumbs-up to photographers.
Mr Woolfe told The Sun he was “groggy but awake”. He did not remember anything before waking in hospital, sources said.
Party boss Nigel Farage said his friend had been in such a bad way that “a few of us thought, is he actually going to make it?”
Nathan Gill, Ukip leader in Wales, told The Sun: “I was a bit late for the meeting.
“As soon as I walked in I knew something dramatic had happened.
“There were tears and Steven was really shaken.”
An aide to Mr Hookem insisted the pair had been involved in a “verbal altercation” and denied he had punched his colleague.
Mr Woolfe tonight released a statement from his hospital bed saying he was “feeling brighter, happier, and smiling as ever.”
It added: “The CT scan has shown that there is no blood clot in the brain.
“As a precaution, I am being kept in overnight awaiting secondary tests to make sure everything in fine.
“I would like everyone to know that the parliamentary staff, the Ukip MEPs with me and hospital staff have been brilliant.
“Their care has been exceptional.
“I am sitting up, and said to be looking well.
“The only consequence at the moment is a bit of numbness on the left of my face.”
Speaking outside the hospital Mr Farage confirmed Mr Woolfe was in “a better place than a few hours ago.”
He said the MEP had “suffered two seizures, one quite major.
He added: “I trust that overnight everything will be OK and he’ll be released tomorrow.”
Mr Farage said he had launched a probe into what happened, but police were not involved yet.
He added: “It’s two grown men getting involved in an altercation.
“It’s not very seemly behaviour but I’m not today going to get involved in the blame game or name names or say who did what.”
The row is a further blow to the credibility of Britain’s third political party, already reeling from the resignation of leader Diane James after just 18 days.
Insiders said the party had reached “breaking point”.
The row came after Mr Woolfe recently admitted he had been tempted to defect.
He had been “enthused by the start to Theresa May’s premiership” including her support for grammar schools.
Tory insiders told The Sun Mr Woolfe had gone as far as meeting party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin.
But the MEP came to the conclusion “that only a strong Ukip can guarantee Brexit is delivered in full, and only our party can stand up for the communities of the Midlands and the North”.
His comments annoyed some of the party faithful. But insurance tycoon Arron Banks, who bankrolls Ukip, said: “Politics nowadays pretty weird, I don’t blame him in a sense because he was treated really appalling.”
Mr Woolfe was blocked from running in the leadership election to replace Mr Farage on a rules technicality.
That prompted Mr Banks to brand party bosses a “bunch of circus clowns” who are “out of their depth in a paddling pool.”
He also hinted he would stop his funding if Mr Woolfe did not win the new contest.
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Ukip’s Neil Hamilton triggered outrage after saying Mr Woolfe had “picked a fight and came off worst”.
He also claimed: “There has been for some time now a growing unpleasantness in Ukip that goes right to the top — to Nigel Farage himself, who has been hurling abuse.
“Nothing has been done to control or stop this.”
Mr Banks said he was he was “disgusted to see Mr Hamilton touring newsrooms, spewing bile before anyone knew if Steven was going to be ok.”
Former Tory Minister Anna Soubry blasted the party for “behaving like boys in the playground.”
She added: “This is serious stuff if he was punched.
“It just shows you how one punch can be so dangerous.
“This is not the proper way to conduct British politics.
“Goodness knows what they must think of our country in European Parliament.”