--- description: A British politician has been hospitalised after being involved in an altercation with colleagues at the European Parliament in Strasbourg title: UKIP MEP Steven Woolfe Hospitalised After Being Punched image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteccb528b7c930f6d/6988a90ecf40a80ebec4513f/steven-woolfe-ukip-parliament.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # UKIP Lawmaker Hospitalized After 'Altercation' with Colleague by [Suyin Haynes](/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 6, 2016 2:27 PM CUT  A still image taken from video shows a man, believed to be UK Independence Party (UKIP) Member of the European Parliament Steven Woolfe, face down on a floor at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Oct. 6, 2016. A still image taken from video shows a man, believed to be UK Independence Party (UKIP) Member of the European Parliament Steven Woolfe, face down on a floor at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Oct. 6, 2016.Reuters by [Suyin Haynes](/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 6, 2016 2:27 PM CUT A lawmaker for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) has been hospitalized after being involved in an altercation with at least one colleague at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Steven Woolfe, who represents the [anti-immigration](http://time.com/3489820/ukip-uk-independence-party-douglas-carswell/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined") party as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), was allegedly punched by a fellow UKIP lawmaker at a meeting on Thursday. [The BBC,](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37572377 "undefined") citing anonymous sources, reports that Woolfe had two seizures in hospital and doctors feared that he was bleeding on the brain. The party formerly led by Nigel Farage has been beset by reports of [factional infighting](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37559186 "undefined"). Woolfe had recently announced his intention to stand for the party leadership, following the resignation of Diane James from the position after only 18 days of holding it. He had intended to run in an earlier leadership election, after[ Farage](http://time.com/4404230/u-k-brexit-leader-invited-to-gop-national-convention/?iid=sr-link7 "undefined") stepped down as leader in July, but failed to file the proper paperwork in time. He released a statement three hours after the incident, saying “The CT scan has shown that there is no blood clot in the brain. At the moment I am feeling brighter, happier, and smiling as ever.” \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37572377 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4521144/ukip-politician-hospitalised/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4521144/ukip-politician-hospitalised/"},"headline":"UKIP Lawmaker Hospitalized After 'Altercation' with Colleague","datePublished":"2016-10-06T14:27:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:03:00.179Z","description":"U.K. Independence Party leadership hopeful Steven Woolfe was reportedly punched by colleague","url":"https://time.com/4521144/ukip-politician-hospitalised/","keywords":["United Kingdom","Nigel Farage"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteccb528b7c930f6d/6988a90ecf40a80ebec4513f/steven-woolfe-ukip-parliament.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Suyin Haynes","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteccb528b7c930f6d/6988a90ecf40a80ebec4513f/steven-woolfe-ukip-parliament.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A still image taken from video shows a man, believed to be UKIP MEP Steven Woolfe, face down on a floor at the European Parliament in Strasbourg","caption":"A still image taken from video shows a man, believed to be UK Independence Party (UKIP) Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Steven Woolfe, face down on a floor at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, October 6, 2016. 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