Scottish Ukip leader David Coburn will meet EU chiefs to discuss Brexit – in a move he said would horrify First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Mr Coburn said his meetings showed the SNP’s push for Scotland to retain links with the EU did not have any special place in the hearts of its leaders, as Ms Sturgeon has tried to demonstrate in a series of highly-publicised meetings.
He will meet European Parliament president Martin Schulz today after Ukip leader Nigel Farage launches his party’s search for a new leader in Strasbourg.
Mr Coburn, who has not ruled himself out of running for UK leader, will also meet European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker next week.
He said: “Nicola Sturgeon has been running about all over the place like a demented elf trying to cause trouble.
“She will be horrified to know I have an appointment with Mr Schulz today and my good friend Mr Juncker when he returns from Mongolia next week.
“We will be discussing Scotland’s place in Europe and in the UK, because the fact is the EU is not interested in pushing the SNP’s claim to remain in the EU.”
Mr Coburn said the SNP was running a distraction campaign and had no hope of getting backing for independence in a second referendum.
He said he had UK Government data showing Scotland pays 10.3billion euros to the EU now and would need to pay more than 3billion euros extra to become a member as an independent state.
He said: “That’s an extra 5,000 per Scottish household, so I think the idea is dead in the water.”
As French Front National leader Marine Le Pen passed Mr Coburn, flashing him a dazzling smile, he added he wanted to help other countries leave the EU.
He said: “We can perhaps free other places from the yoke of the EU.
“The Greeks have the biggest reason and I would say they should default, leave the EU and go back to the drachma.
“Geert Wilders in the Netherlands is dealing with enormous problems of immigration, as are the Swedes, the most liberal nation on earth.
“The entire French establishment is wrapped up in the EU and, although there is not much Marine Le Pen and I agree on, she is saying what everyone else is thinking.
“There is a counter-culture coming up because people have had enough of being told what to do, what to say and what to think by the so-called liberal elite.”
