Ukip's Nigel Farage defends Romanian 'criminals' comment

Leader stands by remarks on LBC radio while communities secretary Eric Pickles says party xenophobic but not racist  
theguardian.com, Saturday 17 May 2014 15.46 BST

Ukip leader Nigel Farage insisted it was ‘perfectly legitimate’ to discuss different nationalities’ crime rates.

Photograph: David Cheskin/PA

Nigel Farage has attempted to defend his controversial remarks that he would be concerned if a group of Romanians were to move in next door to him.

The statement published on the Ukip website comes a day after Farage took part in a heated radio interview in which he was accused of running a divisive and racist organisation.

In the live interview with LBC radio on Friday, the Ukip leader claimed that people know which foreigners make good neighbours as he struggled to square his opposition to European immigration with having a German wife.

Farage said he stood by his claim that Romanians were more likely to be criminals and denied that they were racist. "The unfortunate reality is that we are in political union with a post-communist country that has become highly susceptible to organised crime," he said.

"Where there are differential crime rates between nationalities, it is perfectly legitimate to point this out and to discuss it in the public sphere and I shall continue to do so.

"Police figures are quite clear that there is a high level of criminality within the Romanian community in Britain. This is not to say for a moment that all or even most Romanian people living in the UK are criminals.

"But it is to say that any normal and fair-minded person would have a perfect right to be concerned if a group of Romanian people suddenly moved in next door."

His second attempt to defend his position came after the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, launched a renewed attack on Ukip and the communities secretary, Eric Pickles, suggested the party was uber-nationalist and xenophobic but not racist.

Pickles accused Farage's party of preying on fears about immigration in a shameful way and said some of its members had made "racist calculations". But he said he did not believe "in my heart" that Ukip was a racist party.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Pickles said: "Xenophobia is the fear of anything that's different, anything that's unusual, that's slightly foreign." He said: "In a way, they are a sort of uber-nationalist party.

"The way to defeat Ukip is to show leadership, show a sense of purpose and show a long-term, economic plan."

Meanwhile Miliband said on Saturday that the only alternative Ukip had to offer voters was a combination of even deeper cuts than the coalition and higher unemployment with its demand for withdrawal from the EU.

"If the question on the ballot paper next Thursday is whether we can turn Britain from a country run for a few at the top to a country run for working people once again, Ukip is not the answer," he said.

"They claim to offer something new. But what are their answers? 'Keeping the flame of Thatcherism alive.' Bigger cuts than the Tories. Charges to see your GP. Leave Europe with all that means for investment and jobs.

"Friends, this agenda will never serve the working people of Britain."

bb1 wrote:Hmmm. IMO, the more the establishment smears Farage and UKIP, the more his support rises in England. The European elections should be interesting, though it's annoying that we have to wait for the results for days until Europe votes.