Members and observers alike are disgusted with UKIP's far-right allies in the EFD group in the European Parliament. The controversy has led to waves of resignations - the last thing UKIP needs with a general election just weeks away.
None of this should come as any surprise, however, as an e-mail sent from Nigel Farage's office back in 2006 shows that there has always been sympathy for neo-nazi and fascist extremism in certain dark corners of the party.
This revolting e-mail apparently seeks to "cleanse" the image of the NPD - a party that considers itself to be the natural successor to the NSPD, Hitler's Nazi Party. Other parties are also mentioned - apparently they are not extremist at all, they are just Good Ol' Boys who are being misrepresented by a hostile and biased media.
The Vlaams Belang get an inevitable mention, no surprise there, as the actual author of this missive (Farage can no more write his own e-mails than he can his own book) was allegedly spotted putting up VB posters in Brussels prior to Belgian local elections. Click on the email with your mouse to see a clearer version.
And do you remember a blurred photo, taken in the summer of 1997, showing Nigel chatting to two men? One was Tony "the bomber" Lecomber, the other was Mark Deavin, head of research for the BNP. It can be seen above.
When the photo was sent anonymously to UKIP, Farage claimed bafflement. While admitting that "I briefly met Mr Deavin at his request on June 17 1997, and had lunch with him in a restaurant," he insisted that "I have no recollection of ever meeting or speaking to Mr Lecomber in my life... I can only surmise that Mr Lecomber was planted outside the restaurant or that the photograph has been doctored." A month after the lunch, by an odd coincidence, Deavin wrote an article in Spearhead which discussed the possibility of closer relations between the BNP and UKIP.
Deavlin had briefly infiltrated UKIP but was expelled by Alan Sked in May 1997 after his true affiliations were discovered.
It is an interesting fact that Farage met Deavin AFTER the BNP man's expulsion from UKIP. At the time of the photo Farage was also having serious problems with Alan Sked. The relationship between the two had deteriorated to such an extant that Sked had even briefly managed to expel Farage from UKIP!
At the time of the photo Farage was considering his political future and his options.
It seems that every time this incident is mentioned Nigel gives a different version of what exactly happened. At the last count he was on version number 5. How about giving us version number 6?
One can only wonder why Mark Croucher - who is obsessed with trying to link Dr Eric Edmond and Gary Cartwright to the far-right - has ignored this damning evidence. Can you imagine what Croucher would do if that photo featured Dr Edmond or Mr Cartwright!
But as Croucher owes his extremely well paid job in the EFD to Nigel Farage we can fully understand his silence.
We can now reveal that Farage hopes to bring the Dutch Freedom Party into the EFD after the general election.
Initially Farage was hostile to the Dutch party on the basis that they are "anti-Islamic" - in reality he was afraid of being overshadowed by Geert Wilders, who is a far more skillful operator in both political and media terms. Wilders did not take a seat in the European parliament, so that threat has subsided.
Having lost one MEP from his EFD group, knowing that several more will follow after the May election, and aware that at least two other delegations are seeking to go to the EPP or the Tory ECR groups, Farage needs to build up his numbers.
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