Farage says Tories behind party attacks

The UK Independence Party leader reiterated denials to claims made in the European Parliament that he had an affair with his spokeswoman Annabelle Fuller.

MEP Nikki Sinclaire, who left the party after a row with Mr Farage, used parliamentary privilege to accuse the Ukip leader of using his secretarial allowance to employ his wife Kirsten and his “former mistress” Ms Fuller.

Ms Fuller said she had been “continually hounded by the press with these false allegations since 2006”. Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday Politics show, Mr Farage also claimed the Conservatives were behind a series of attacks on his party.

Asked if he denied he employed a former mistress, South East MEP Mr Farage said: “Yes... if you actually look at that allegation and you look at many of the other things that have been said over the course of the last week, I think it’s becoming pretty clear to voters that the Establishment are now terrified of Ukip and they will use whatever little helpers they can find to try and do us down in public.”