UK party suspends leader’s girlfriend over racist Meghan Markle remarks

Meghan Markle. Image: AP Photo/ Dominic Lipinski, Pool

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. Independence Party has suspended the girlfriend of the party’s leader after she reportedly made racist remarks about Prince Harry’s fiancee Meghan Markle.

In a statement, Jo Marney apologized for the “shocking language” she used in a series of text messages to a friend, but said they had been “taken out of context.”

The Mail on Sunday newspaper reported that the 25-year-old Marney made offensive comments about Markle and black people, including calling them “ugly.”

The texts reportedly referred to Markle as the ‘black American’ and said that she would ‘taint’ the royal line Family with ‘her seed’ to create a ‘black king’.

Markle, who will wed Harry in May, has spoken out about being biracial and how that affected her acting career. She was also subject to racism from the UK media when she and Harry were dating in 2016, prompting the prince to issue a statement against the “abuse and harassment” she faced.

Party leader Henry Bolton said Marney’s membership in the party was suspended immediately. Marney doesn’t hold an official post in the party. NVG

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