UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has defended his belief that HIV-positive immigrants should be banned from entering the United Kingdom.
During an interview with Newsweek Europe, Mr Farage said the UK should be able to accept or reject immigrants based on their quality.
Pressed to say if “quality” meant people without murder convictions, for example, he said: “Yes. And people who do not have HIV, to be frank. That’s a good start.”
His remark provoked condemnation yesterday, with one HIV-positive woman criticising his stance when she rang to speak with him on a live radio debate.
‘Deplorable bigotry’
Doctors criticised him, too: “[It] is an example of the most deplorable kind of bigotry,” said Dr David Asboe, chairman of the British HIV Association.
Mr Farage's comments embarrassed Douglas Carswell, just hours after the former Conservative became the first person elected to the Commons under the Ukip flag.
Walking with Mr Farage in Clacton, Essex, Mr Carswell claimed that his new leader's remarks to Newsweek had been "mischaracterised" by the Guardian – which they had not.
Mr Carswell was brought up in Uganda and his father, a doctor, was one of the first to begin to warn about the existence of Aids in the early 1980s.
A small number of countries, including the United States, do ban immigration by people who are HIV-positive – while others have restrictions on people, for example, carrying tuberculosis.
Clarifying his remarks yesterday, Mr Farage said foreign patients’ illnesses are putting pressure on the National Health Service: “I listed it [HIV] amongst a long list. We want a positive immigration policy.”
