Britain's UKIP suspends election candidate over allegation of expenses-rigging

LONDON – The U.K. Independence Party, which wants Britain to leave the European Union, has suspended a candidate in the upcoming general election over claims a member of her staff inflated a restaurant receipt to be claimed on European taxpayer-funded expenses.

The allegation is embarrassing for UKIP, which rails against alleged wastefulness in the EU.

Janice Atkinson, a lawmaker at the European Parliament, was UKIP's candidate in the Folkestone constituency.

The Sun newspaper reported Friday that a member of her staff negotiated a 3,150 pound ($4,600) invoice for an event that cost 950 pounds.

The paper recorded the staffer saying: "The idea is we overcharge them slightly because that's the way we repatriate (the money)."

Party leader Nigel Farage said he didn't know all the details, but "it does not look good."