Refugee crisis: Former Ukip candidate Peter Bucklitsch apologises for 'mistaken' tweet about Aylan Kudri's death

Former Ukip parliamentary candidate had said the Syrian toddler's death was the result of 'queue jumping' the immigration system

Peter Bucklitsch stood for Ukip at the General Election in the Wimbledon constituency (@bucklitsch/Twitter)

The former Ukip parliamentary candidate who sparked outrage by claiming that the death of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi was a result of immigration "queue jumping" by his "greedy" parents has apologised for his comments.

In an interview with The Argus newspaper, Peter Bucklitsch said his tweet had been "a mistake, pure and simple".

Images showing the drowned body of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, found washed up on a Turkish beach, have reignited anger at the deaths of thousands of refugees attempting to reach Europe.

Mr Bucklitsch, who stood as a Ukip candidate in the last election, had tweeted that the boy died "because his parents were greedy for the good life in Europe".

His comments prompted a backlash against him on social media and Douglas Carswell, the Ukip MP, distanced himself from his former colleague branding comments "grotesque and awful".

In his interview with The Argus Mr Bucklitsch appeared to recant.

"The only thing you can do in circumstances like that is hold your hands up and apologise," he told the newspaper "So, that's what I've done."

In the interview he said that several of the responses to his tweets had been from people telling him to die.

Mr Bucklitsch appears to have withdrawn from Twitter following the incident.