UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall said, “We are all horrified by the horrific events that took place in Manchester. Following those events it is right and proper that political parties suspended their campaigns for a short period as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives or suffered appalling injuries. 

UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall issued the following statement this morning:

The barbarity of what took place in Manchester last night, a deliberate attack on our children leaves us feeling sick and outraged. 

UKIP Leader and North West MEP Paul Nuttall said: “Just woken to the terrible news in the heart of my constituency, Manchester. My prayers and thoughts are with those affected. Stay strong.

“In light of what’s happened I have suspended the UKIP General Election campaign.”

UKIP economic spokesman Patrick O’Flynn branded today’s Conservative U-turn on a death tax for social care as “wholly inadequate and raising more questions than it answers”.

The Conservatives have announced they will cap the amount that can be taken from the estates of people who needed social care when they were alive, but have not said what the cap will be.

Mr O’Flynn, who this morning predicted the Tory policy would unravel and called for it to be dumped, said: “The Conservatives are in full meltdown on this issue. But just telling people they will consult on a cap on social care bills is not good enough.

UKIP economic spokesman Patrick O’Flynn today called on the Conservatives to scrap their plans to take huge sums out of the estates of elderly people who have received social care.

He said: “This Tory death tax could involve taking tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of pounds out of someone’s estate if they have been unlucky enough to suffer an extended debilitating condition late in life.

“This is a Russian roulette approach to paying for social care for the elderly and the abrogation of government responsibility. It makes a mockery of the claims of Mrs May and her key advisers to be running a communitarian Conservative administration.

“The Prime Minister seems to wish to avoid scrutiny on heavyweight political programmes in this election. She went on the One Show recently. If she sticks to this policy her next appearance should be on Total Wipeout because that is pretty much what she has in mind for the estates of many elderly people.”