Griffin says Ukip voters are
racists who will turn to BNP

Mr Griffin was abandoned by voters in the North West four years after the BNP won two seats in the European Parliament – which was swiftly followed by a period of turmoil within the far-right party.

After six months on taxpayer-funded severance pay, he said he intended to campaign in the region – partly by setting up food banks exclusively for “our” people.

“I’ve lost count of the number I’ve spoken to who say, ‘We really like the BNP but we are voting Ukip because there is more chance they will stop immigration and send them all home’,” he told Sky News.

“As there is not a hope in hell of that, people are going to be very disappointed when they find out what Ukip really stands for and that huge vote is going to come back to us.

“Most of the voters are what the liberal elite call ‘racist’ – they want immigration stopped for good, the whole lot of them. They think they are going to get that with Ukip. They are not.”

Scuffles broke out as Mr Griffin arrived at Manchester Town Hall for the count.

Protesters screaming, “Nazi scum” surrounded his car and dozens of police officers struggled to keep them separated from Mr Griffin and a handful of his supporters.

He had to duck placards hurled at him and dodge attackers who broke through police barriers, with officers rugby tackling some of them, before Mr Griffin was taken into the safety of the town hall.

Out of breath and breathing heavily, Mr Griffin said his reception at the town hall was “fairly typical”.

Andrew Brons, who was elected for the BNP in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2009 but quit the party two years later, also lost his seat.