victim surely shares a part of the responsibility, if only for establishing reasonable expectations in her boyfriend's mind." His comments were criticised by East Midlands politicians Bill Newton-Dunn and Nigel Mills though Helmer refused to change what he had said. Views on sexuality On 19 July 2009, on his blog, Helmer defended the Polish Law and Justice MEP, and chairman of the ECR, Michał Kamiński from accusations of homophobia. He went on to write that homophobia does not exist and that the word: "is merely a propaganda device" designed to "denigrate and stigmatise those holding conventional opinions." On 11 August 2009, Helmer defended himself against criticism of comments he had made, saying he was not claiming "that there is no discrimination, and that homosexuals do not suffer violence and prejudice from people because sadly, we all know that is not the case." but rather, he states, that the word homophobia has "no meaning" because he has "never met anyone with an irrational fear of homosexuals" and claims that the term is a propagandist one created by the "militant gay rights lobby." In March 2012, Helmer spoke out in support of Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, who had earlier condemned the government's plans to introduce same-sex marriage as a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right." Although he had formerly been critical of the Roman Catholic Church, labelling it "systematically paedophile", Helmer praised O'Brien's statement, opining that "Christian moral principles are not a bad basis for a free and fair society". He furthermore commented that "once you start to tamper with the institution of marriage, you get into some very murky water indeed", and that such a move could set a precedent that would lead to the legalisation of communal marriage and incest. Following accusations of homophobia, UKIP leader Nigel Farage confirmed that Helmer had relaxed his views on homosexuality in recent years, describing him as "somebody of 70 years of age who grew up with a strong Christian Bible background. He grew up in an age when homosexuality was actually imprisonable, and he had a certain set of views which he maintained for many years which he now says he accepts the world's moved on and he's relaxed about." Ahead of the 2014 Newark by-election, Helmer gave an interview to The Mail on Sunday, in which he said the NHS should fund