UKIP were embroiled in a fresh controversy today after the party’s youngest member was caught boasting about a “fantastic” CANNABIS-fuelled party.
Rosie Ward, 17, posted photos on her Facebook page showing revellers drinking and smoking at in a bar at an event she is thought to have hosted.
The album was entitled “Punk Party” and captioned: “The amount of baccy and weed I had to vacuum up. But all in all a fantastic night! X”
Miss Ward made UKIP history in March when members unanimously elected her as chairman for the Camborne, Redruth and Hayle branch in Cornwall.
But despite being too young to be served in a pub, her photographs appear to have been taken inside The Hideaway Bar in Redruth, a venue which has since shut down.
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They show several young revellers clutching cans of beer, smoking outside and making two-fingered gestures at the camera.
Miss Ward has since responded by saying her father was present at the party and that the cannabis was brought in by gatecrashers.
Cornwall Councillor Harry Blakeley, who Miss Ward took over from as UKIP branch chairman, said: “I’m aware that there is a situation regarding a Rosie Ward and a Facebook post.
“Before considering Rosie for the role of chairman we strongly went through her history and she assured us that she had never smoked or taken any drugs.”
Straight A student Miss Ward is currently studying French, Latin and Spanish at A-level and plans to study Classics or History at university before joining the RAF.
The outspoken youngster runs her own blog site entitled “Never Mind the Bollocks here’s Rosaleena” when she espouses her anti-EU stance and lists her interests as sailing, record collecting, the violin and playing rugby.
In one particular post Miss Ward attacks rules imposed on smokers saying they could drive young people to try more dangerous drugs.
She writes: “The continued persecution of smokers with these laws has caused another, more pressing issue to rise – the use of marijuana.
“The more rules imposed on smokers, the more young people passively turn against the authority and turn to more dangerous drugs, but the European Union still fail to address the true ‘war on drugs’ and yet totally reject the idea of legalizing them.”
A biog describing why Rosie joined Young Independence, the youth wing of UKIP, says she chose the party because it “encourages freedom of speech”.
It also adds: “As well as this, Rosie happens to think Nigel Farage is awesome. ‘Cos he smokes. And she met Nigel once. He said she put her piece regarding grammar schools forward as “beautifully put”.. twice.”
UKIP Cornwall’s chairman Steph McWilliam said he had spoken to Miss Ward and did not see the party photographs as a serious issue.
He said: “I’ve spoken to Rosie and she’s assured us that her father was present at the party and the drugs were brought onto the premises by gatecrashers.”
The controversy over Miss Ward’s Facebook page comes after days of embarrassing gaffes and slip-ups by UKIP.
The party has been attacked for an allegedly racist European Election campaign while a number of extremists have been exposed in its ranks, including a candidate who said Lenny Henry should emigrate to a “black country” and compared Islam to the Third Reich.
Photos of the party were updated four months ago – before she joined UKIP.
