1. Janice Ann Atkinson was born on 31 August 1962 and is a former British politician who was a Member of the European Parliament for the South East England region.
17 Facts About Janice Atkinson
1. 2.
Janice Atkinson formerly represented the UK Independence Party and later sat as an independent: she was elected in 2014, second on the list for the region behind Nigel Farage.
3.
Janice Atkinson was director of Conservative Action for Electoral Reform.
4.
Janice Atkinson joined UKIP in 2011, citing David Cameron's failure to produce a referendum on European Union membership.
5.
Janice Atkinson was selected as the UKIP candidate for Folkestone and Hythe for the 2015 general election, before being expelled from the party and withdrawn as its candidate due to a 'serious financial irregularity'.
6.
On 16 June 2015, it was announced that Janice Atkinson had joined the newly formed far-right group in the European Parliament, Europe of Nations and Freedom.
7.
Janice Atkinson is an associate of the American Legislative Exchange Council.
8.
Janice Atkinson asked Home Secretary Sajid Javid to make it mandatory for the Union Jack to be displayed at ports and airports; Javid refused the request.
9.
Janice Atkinson did not stand in the 2019 European Parliament elections.
10.
On 1 March 2018 Janice Atkinson was one of three UK MEPs who voted against a motion to encourage national parliaments to ban "gay conversion therapies".
11.
Janice Atkinson apologised and explained in an interview shortly after that she never meant any malice and the unintended comment was taken out of context.
12.
Janice Atkinson's ex-husband claimed this had "caused major hardship for her son and for her family".
13.
Janice Atkinson was singled out for criticism as she had previously attacked "feckless families" who have more children than they can afford.
14.
On 19 March 2015 Janice Atkinson was suspended from the party following "allegations of a serious financial nature".
15.
Janice Atkinson was cleared of all allegations by the Kent Police and no further action was taken against her.
16.
Janice Atkinson was previously married to Steve Small, with whom she had two sons.
17.
Janice Atkinson was taken to court twice by the Child Support Agency to force her to pay what she owed.