Asked if she considered her remarks to be alarmist, she said: “People have come to me with tales of intimidation and I try to persuade them to go public but they feel they can’t. It worries me.”
A UKIP candidate standing in the European election has denied being alarmist after saying there were “no-go” areas in Kent because of the presence of gangs of Eastern European immigrants.
The claims have been denounced by the Liberal Democrats, who say they are inflammatory and could provoke vigilante attacks.
UKIP candidate Janice Atkinson made her comments following police raids across the county earlier this week in an operation targeting sexual exploitation gangs.
The raids in Margate, Folkestone, Dover and Gravesend led to a number of arrests. The 22 suspects were Roma immigrants originally from Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
In a press release responding to the operation, Janice Atkinson – who is one of UKIP’s top candidates in the south east region – said she feared reprisals and appealed for calm:
“Kent is on the frontline, both in border terms and where gangs are choosing to settle.
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