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Nigel Farage hits back at defecting MEP Amjad Bashir Nigel Farage hits back at defecting MEP Amjad Bashir
(about 1 hour later)
An MEP who has defected to the Conservatives had "reached the end of the road" with UKIP, party leader Nigel Farage has said.An MEP who has defected to the Conservatives had "reached the end of the road" with UKIP, party leader Nigel Farage has said.
Amjad Bashir was suspended by UKIP over various allegations - all of which he denies - shortly before announcing his defection on Saturday.Amjad Bashir was suspended by UKIP over various allegations - all of which he denies - shortly before announcing his defection on Saturday.
He quit after criticising UKIP's "ridiculous" lack of policies.He quit after criticising UKIP's "ridiculous" lack of policies.
On the BBC's Andrew Marr show, Mr Farage also predicted UKIP would win more than four seats at the election. On the BBC's Andrew Marr show, Mr Farage also said UKIP would commit an extra £3bn per year in NHS funding.
The party said it would raise the cash by quitting the EU and through "middle management" cuts.
In his interview, Mr Farage also said:In his interview, Mr Farage also said:
Mr Cameron has said he is "delighted" Mr Bashir, formerly a Conservative who was elected as a UKIP MEP last year, is rejoining his party. Mr Bashir, a former Conservative, was elected as a UKIP MEP last year.
Before the defection was announced, UKIP suspended Mr Bashir and said he was being investigated for matters including "unanswered financial and employment questions" and "interference" with candidate selection processes. Before the defection was announced, UKIP suspended him and said he was being investigated for matters including "unanswered financial and employment questions" and "interference" with candidate selection processes.
Mr Bashir said his suspension was a "crude attempt" to discredit him.Mr Bashir said his suspension was a "crude attempt" to discredit him.
"There is not a shred of truth in any of the claims but it has made me more convinced than ever that I made the right decision," he wrote in the Mail on Sunday.
'Desperate stuff'
Mr Farage said he had become "increasingly alarmed" by Mr Bashir's behaviour in recent months.Mr Farage said he had become "increasingly alarmed" by Mr Bashir's behaviour in recent months.
"Whichever way we look at this, he had reached the end of the road with us," he said, adding that his "only surprise" was that the Conservatives had accepted him."Whichever way we look at this, he had reached the end of the road with us," he said, adding that his "only surprise" was that the Conservatives had accepted him.
And he said reports of the the comments by Mr Richardson, the party's secretary and a member of its national executive council, were an example of "tribal politics" involving the big two parties and "their friends in the media".
In footage released by the Labour Party from 2010, Mr Richardson also described the NHS as "the biggest waste of money in the whole United Kingdom".
Mr Farage said the speech had been given when Mr Richardson was a Conservative.
Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps described Mr Bashir's suspension by UKIP as "desperate stuff".
He told Sky News the MEP had defected because of the "chaos" within UKIP, and that the Conservatives were the only party offering "complete control" over immigration and Europe.