THE leader of UKIP attended a private meeting in Barrow tonight after a planned protest forced two venues to pull out.

Party leader Gerard Batten met with local members at the Soccer Bar after they were forced to alter the scheduled event following threats allegedly being made towards staff at two other venues.

The event, originally due to be open to the public, was initially set to be held at Cloud 9 in Dalkeith Street but after the venue’s boss Simon Crompton reported his employees had received threats he was forced to pull out.

An alternative venue, the Lisdoonie Hotel in Abbey Road, was then secured but the owner of the hotel also then confirmed he and his staff had been subjected to verbal threats.

Local UKIP members branded the incidents as “sabotage of open political debate” and condemned the “abhorrent abuse” experienced by staff at Cloud 9 and the Lisdoonie.

Simon Crompton, Cloud 9 owner, showed The Mail video evidence on his phone of how the wheel nuts on his car had been loosened.

Mr Batten denounced the activities of those he described as "anti-fascist fascists" and added "this is the real menace in this country; it's not this mythological far right, it's the extreme left".

Speaking to a group of around 25 local UKIP members at the Soccer Bar Mr Batten warned of the danger of the "Marxist Labour Party" under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

He added: "We are living in very strange and dangerous times."

Discussing Brexit, Mr Batten said: "In 2016 we had the referendum and what has happened since? Nothing.

"Theresa May is either totally incompetent or this whole thing is a charade."

In a statement the Barrow and Furness branch of UKIP apologised for the abuse suffered by staff at Cloud 9 and the Lisdoonie.

They said: “UKIP supports peaceful protest, indeed it’s what we’ve been doing for 25 years.

“However protests without dialogue are pointless, protests against dialogue are extremely dangerous.

“It is with regret that the public meeting scheduled in Barrow with Gerard Batten will now be a private meeting open only to local UKIP members.

“UKIP extends our deepest apologies to Simon of Cloud 9 and John of The Lisdoonie Hotel for the abhorrent abuse they and their staff have endured.

“For open political debate (one of the true tests of democracy) to be sabotaged in this way is a stain on the reputation of our town.”