FOLLOWING the Standard's report of the Cotswold hustings on Thursday, April 23, UKIP candidate Chris Harlow has denied saying that a vote for either the Conservatives or the Lib Dems at the last election had been a vote for gay marriage.

In a statement to the Standard today Mr Harlow said:

"I did not mention the Coalition.

"Nor did I say that a vote for them was a vote for gay marriage (but both of these erroneous statements were in your headline).

"What I did do was question how well the LibLabCon parties had responded to their supporters' interests by questioning whether LibDem voters wanted tuition fees trebled, VAT increased, and higher unemployment Labour voters wanted more immigration from Eastern Europe, pay rates reduced, pressure on hospitals, schools and housing Conservative voters wanted more regulation from Brussels, reduced armed forces and gay marriage.

"I suspect that the 'gasps of disbelief' were because I was prepared to point out some uncomfortable facts to an audience that largely comprised political activists from other parties."

The Standard had four reporters at the event and sticks by its report, other than to agree that Mr Harlow did not mention the Coalition, but rather the individual parties in the coalition.