LONDON: The leader of the anti-immigration UK Independence Party announced Monday he had ended his relationship after his girlfriend reportedly made racist remarks about Prince Harry’s fiancee Meghan Markle.
Henry Bolton said he ended his brief liaison with 25-year-old Jo Marney after the Mail on Sunday newspaper published what he described as “appalling and insulting” text messages she reportedly sent.
“I don’t defend these comments whatsoever... As of last night the romantic side of our relationship is ended,” he told ITV television.
Bolton, who took up the UKIP leadership in September, said Marney had been suspended from the party.
He is under pressure to resign over his liaison.
According to the Mail on Sunday, she wrote messages to a friend complaining that Markle — an American actress of mixed race who is due to marry Harry in May — would “taint our royal family” with her “seed.”
“Next will be a Muslim PM (prime minister). And a black king,” she was reported to have written.
In a statement, Marney said her remarks were “deliberately exaggerated to make a point” and were taken out of context, but “I fully recognize the offense they have caused.”
Bolton had already made headlines this month over his decision to end his marriage and start dating Marney.
He has resisted widespread calls to resign as UKIP’s third elected leader since Nigel Farage stepped down in the wake of Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union.
The party has struggled to find a role since the Brexit referendum and has been beset by infighting.
UKIP leader dumps girlfriend over racist royal slur
UKIP leader dumps girlfriend over racist royal slur
Makkah museum displays world’s largest Qur’an
MAKKAH: The Holy Qur’an Museum at the Hira Cultural District in Makkah is showcasing a monumental handwritten copy of the Holy Qur’an, recognized as the largest Qur’an of its kind in the world.
The manuscript measures 312 cm by 220 cm and comprises 700 pages, earning the museum recognition from Guinness World Records for displaying the world’s largest Qur’an, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The manuscript is a magnified reproduction of a historic Qur’an dating back to the 16th century, the SPA stated.
The original copy measures 45 cm by 30 cm, with the chapters written primarily in Thuluth script, while Surah Al-Fatiha was penned in Naskh, reflecting the refined artistic choices and calligraphic diversity of the era.
The Qur’an is a unique example of Arabic calligraphy, gilding and bookbinding, showcasing Islamic art through intricate decorations, sun-shaped motifs on the opening folio, and elaborately designed frontispiece and title pages that reflect a high level of artistic mastery.
The manuscript was endowed as a waqf in 1883. Its original version is currently preserved at the King Abdulaziz Complex for Endowment Libraries, serving as a lasting testament to Muslims’ enduring reverence for the Qur’an and the richness of Islamic arts across the centuries.
