article_snippet.sent: Nigel Farage attempted to play down Amjad Bashir's decision to switch sides in January by insisting that the former communities spokesman had already been sacked over alleged financial irregularities and claims of the employment of illegal immigrants in Nigel Farage restaurant business.
article_snippet.sent: Mr Bashir, who was elected Ukip MEP for the Yorkshire and Humber region in the 2014 European Parliament elections, is awaiting a response and no date has been set for a court case.
article_snippet.sent: After quitting Ukip in January, Amjad Bashir's branded Mr Farage's party 'pretty amateur' and accused Mr Farage's party 'pretty amateur' of a 'ridiculous' lack of policies.
article_snippet.sent: Questioned at the time about Mr Farage's accusations, Chancellor George Osborne said Chancellor George Osborne was 'absolutely comfortable' about Amjad Bashir's becoming a Conservative MEP.
article_snippet.sent: But the Tories said the candidate for Hull West and Hessle had been 'sacked' for threatening to stand as an independent.