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Nigel Farage blames multiculturalism for London terror attack

'I'm sorry to say that we have now a fifth column living inside these European countries,' says former Ukip leader

Thursday 23 March 2017 12:37 GMT

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Nigel Farage blames multiculturalism for London terror attack

Nigel Farage has suggested support for multiculturalism is to blame for the Westminster attack.

The former Ukip leader claimed the political support for multiculturalism had created a "fifth column" of terror supporters in Western societies.

Mr Farage argued this was the fault of former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, claiming his government ordered “search parties” to track down immigrants from around the world to bring to the UK.

Mr Farage argued people would be keen for “answers” in the wake of the London attack which killed three people and questioned Theresa May and Sadiq Khan’s insistence Britain was united in the wake of the incident.

The Ukip MEP failed to mention the fact many of the victims of the attack were in fact foreigners themselves. Aysha Frade, a Spanish teacher on her way to pick up her children from school, was one of those who died.

Of the casualties admitted to hospital, 12 were British, three were French children, two Romanians, four South Koreans, two Greeks and one citizen from both Germany, Poland, Ireland, China, Italy and the US.

Mr Farage, who has forged a blossoming relationship with President Donald Trump in recent months, said the atrocity strengthened Mr Trump’s arguments for creating more extreme vetting for immigrants coming to the US.

Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

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1/12Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he unveiled that 'breaking point' poster during the referendum

Mr Farage was accused of deploying “Nazi-style propaganda” when he unveiled a poster showing Syrian refugees travelling to Europe under the next “Breaking point”. Users on social media were quick to compare the advert to a Nazi propaganda film with similar visuals and featuring Jewish refugees. The poster was particularly controversial because it was unveiled the morning of the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox

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Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he said he’d be concerned if his neighbours were Romanian

In May 2014 Mr Farage was accused of a “racial slur” against Romanians after he suggested he would be concerned living next to a house of them. “I was asked if a group of Romanian men moved in next to you, would you be concerned? And if you lived in London, I think you would be,” he told LBC radio during an interview. Asked whether he would also object to living next to German children, he said: “You know the difference”

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Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he said the EU campaign was won 'without a bullet being fired'

Nigel Farage has said the next Prime Minister has to be a Leave supporter

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Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he resigned as Ukip leader and came back days later

After failing to win the seat of South Thanet at the general election, Nigel Farage stepped down as Ukip leader – as he had promised to do during the campaign. Days later on 11 May he “un-resigned” and said he would stay after being convinced by supporters within the party. We’ll see how long his resignation lasts this time

AP/Matt Dunham

Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he blamed immigrants for making him late

Mr Farage turned up late to a £25-a-head ‘meet the leader’ style event in Port Talbot, Wales in December 2014. Asked why he was late, he blamed immigrants. “It took me six hours and 15 minutes to get here - it should have taken three-and-a-half to four,” he said. “That has nothing to do with professionalism, what it does have to do with is a country in which the population is going through the roof chiefly because of open-door immigration and the fact that the M4 is not as navigable as it used to be”

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Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he wanted to ban immigrants with HIV from Britain

Mr Farage has used his platform as Ukip leader call for people with HIV to be banned from coming to Britain. Asked in an interview with Newsweek Europe in October 2014 who he thought should be allowed to come to the UK, he said: “People who do not have HIV, to be frank. That’s a good start. And people with a skill.” He also repeated similar comments in the 2015 general election leadership debates

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Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he defended the use of a racial slur against Chinese people

Defending one of Ukip’s candidates, who used the word “ch**ky” to describe a Chinese person, Mr Farage said: “If you and your mates were going out for a Chinese, what do you say you're going for?" When he was told by the presented that he “honestly would not” use the slur, Mr Farage replied: “A lot would”

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Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he said parts of Britain were ‘like a foreign land’

The Ukip leader used his 2014 conference speech to declare parts of Britain as being “like a foreign land”. He told his audience in Torquay that parts of the country were “unrecognisable” because of the number of foreigners there. Mr Farage has also previously said he felt uncomfortable when people spoke other language on a train

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Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he said the British army should be deployed to France

At the height of trouble at Britain’s Calais border Mr Farage proposed a novel solution. The Ukip leader called for the British army to be sent to France to put down a migrant rebellion. “In all civil emergencies like this we have an army, we have a bit of a Territorial Army as well and we have a very, very overburdened police force and border agency,” he said. “If in a crisis to make sure we’ve actually got the manpower to check lorries coming in, to stop people illegally coming to Britain, if in those circumstances we can use the army or other forces then why not”

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Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he said breastfeeding women should ‘sit in the corner’

Mr Farage sparked protests from mothers after he told women to “sit on the corner” if they wanted to breastfeed their children. “I think that given that some people feel very embarrassed by it, it isn’t too difficult to breastfeed a baby in a way that's not openly ostentatious,” Mr Farage said. He added: "Or perhaps sit in the corner, or whatever it might be”

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Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he said the gender pay gap exists because women are ‘worth less’

At a Q&A on the European Union in January 2014 Mr Farage said there was no discrimination against women causing the gender pay gap. Instead, he said, women were paid less because they were simply “worth far less” than many of their male counterparts. “A woman who has a client base, has a child and takes two or three years off - she is worth far less to her employer when she comes back than when she went away because that client base won't be stuck as rigidly to her portfolio,” he said

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Nigel Farage's most controversial moments

When he said he actually couldn’t guarantee £350m to the NHS after Brexit

During the EU referendum campaign the Leave side pledged to spend £350 million a week on the National Health Service – claiming that this is what the UK sends to Brussels. Nigel Farage didn’t speak out against this figure and also pledged to spend EU cash on the health service and other public services himself. Then the day of the election result he suddenly changed his tone, saying he couldn’t guarantee the cash for the NHS and that to pledge to do so was “a mistake”

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Speaking on Fox News, Mr Farage said: "The idea that this whole country is united, which is what we are hearing from our leaders, I'm not sure is true.

"I think the British people want some answers from our leaders as to what they are now going to do,” he continued. "I do actually think that the moment has come for us to actually point the blame. What these politicians have done in the space of just 15 years may well affect the way we live in this country over the next 100 years."

Mr Farage went on to discuss the possible causes behind the incident with Sean Hannity, a conservative TV personality and well-known supporter of President Trump.

The British politician, who has recently become a commentator on the US network, said: "We've made some terrible mistakes in this country, and it really started with the election of Tony Blair back in 1997, who said he wanted to build a multicultural Britain.

"His government even said they sent out search parties to find immigrants from all over the world to come into Britain. Do you know what? I don't think we vetted a single one of them.”

He continued: "The problem with multiculturalism is that it leads to divided communities. It's quite different to multi-racialism. That's fine, that can work very happily and extremely well. But we've finished up with very divided communities.

"I'm sorry to say that we have now a fifth column living inside these European countries. Surely an American audience seeing this horrendous thing happening in Westminster should start to say to itself that when Donald Trump tries to put in place vetting measures, he is doing it to protect your country."

Mr Farage attacked protesters in Fifth Avenue in New York and in wider America, saying: "Frankly, if you open your door to uncontrolled immigration from Middle Eastern countries, you are inviting in terrorism."

Mr Farage was the first foreign politician to meet Mr Trump in person and met him before Theresa May. He has met with the president on a number of occasions since, having both attended a “heroes and villains” costume party in New York in early December.

The Metropolitan Police is deploying extra armed and unarmed patrols across the capital to provide protection and reassurance in the aftermath of the tragedy, which investigators are treating as an Islamist-inspired terror attack.

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