UK organiser of Tire Technology Expo changes name

Dorking, UK – UKIP Media & Events, organisers of annual tire event, Tire Technology Expo, have changed their name to UKi Media & Events to avoid confusion with the nationalist UK Independence Party (UKIP).

“Both the political party and our fantastic company sprang up at much the same time, and neither had any right to claim the other could not use the UKIP letter sequence in the manner that we both have done for many years,” explained Tony Robinson in a statement.

However, Robinson said the company changed its name due to it being “an entirely non-political organisation”.

During the UK general election in 2015, he added, “one member of the public demanded to enter our HQ in Dorking, entirely convinced that [UKIP leader] Nigel Farage’s offices were hidden in there.”

"We are acutely aware that much of what we will do in the future requires underlining the fact that we are totally non-political – so UKi Media & Events it is," Robinson added.

UKi Media & Events started work in 1991 while right-wing political party UKIP was launched in 1993.