.@Nigel_Farage: “If you open your door to uncontrolled immigration from Middle Eastern countries you are inviting i… https://t.co/QzaLcHO3w9
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has been called on to retract his statement that the Westminster terror attack on Wednesday was linked to uncontrolled immigration – after it emerged that the security services believe the attacker was born in Britain.
Speaking on Fox News on Wednesday night after the attack, Farage said recent terrorism was the fault of politicians who advocated mass immigration. "You can't have open-door immigration and defeat terrorism," he said.
"The moment has come for us to point the finger of blame. What these politicians have done in the last 15 years will affect how we live for 100 years."
Social media was awash with people who challenged him to retract the statement after PM Theresa May told the House of Commons on Thursday morning that the attacker was born in Britain and had been investigated at some point by security services.
Here's hatemonger Nigel Farage perpetrating a lie to explain a falsehood. Truth: immigration is NOT uncontrolled; t… https://t.co/CjJ7d3EJqA
@FoxNews @Nigel_Farage again he was British born. Nothing to do with immigration.
Farage blames London attack on immigration. Before anyone knows whether the attacker is an immigrant. https://t.co/CiHnFbv5qf
.@GawainTowler Would @Nigel_Farage like to retract this statement now we know the attacker was British born? https://t.co/BKJmvH7VHQ
We now know yesterday's attacker was British born. And yet Nigel Farage went on Fox News last night to say we don't vet *refugees* properly
Farage appeared on Fox News for a second time after the attack, on Thursday morning, and again said immigration had played a role in terror attacks in the UK: "I think the population of this country, and most of the other European states, we're now saying to our governments, 'You have have brought this upon us, through immigration policies, through not cracking down on extremism that has grown in our communities.'"
Farage's office has not yet responded to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News.