Farage: is immigration to blame for traffic jams in the UK?

About 100 supporters each paid £25 for Friday’s reception to meet the leader on Friday evening but he did not arrive in time.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday Politics Wales, Mr Farage said: “It took me 6 hours and 15 minutes in the car to get here. It should have taken have taken three-and-a-half to four.

The population is going through the roof chiefly because of open-door immigration. Nigel Farage

“That has nothing to do with professionalism, what it does have to do with is a country in which the population is going through the roof chiefly because of open-door immigration and the fact the M4 is not as navigable as it used to be.”

After hearing Mr Farage’s comments, Labour ‘s Shadow Welsh Secretary tweeted that he thought he’d “heard it all”.

Thought I’d heard it all but @Nigel_Farage has just blamed immigration for clogging the M4 and making him late for his keynote speech.

— Owen Smith MP (@OwenSmithMP) December 7, 2014

However, Mr Farage defended his comments, calling media reports “fake outrage,” and referred to previous remarks made by the immigration minister James Brokenshire.

Can’t make it up: Tory minister says immigration strains roads and no one bats an eyelid. I say it and Mail & Telegraph fake outrage.

— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) December 7, 2014

Mr Brokenshire last month said immigration is putting pressure on Britain’s road network.

He dismissed a report that concluded that European migrants make a net economic gain to Britain by saying its “narrow focus” had failed to take into account pressure on infrastructure.

“It’s not properly addressed the issue of the pressures on public services. Those things that I think very rightly concern the public on access to schools, hospitals, roads, housing, [show] why we do need a sustainable immigration system, bringing it down from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands,” Mr Brokenshire said.

Following the comments, the hashtag #FarageBlamesImmigration quickly spread on social media, hijacking Mr Farage’s message.

I can’t drive along this stretch of road without getting lost. #NotAsNavigableAsItUsedToBe #FarageBlamesImmigration pic.twitter.com/0SAI2ngapA

— TG (@TelepathicGoat) December 7, 2014

My daughter won’t sleep. I blame the immigrants (but again, the immigrants at fault are my wife and I). #FarageBlamesImmigration

— Good King Benceslas (@tingeltangelben) December 7, 2014

My leg is asleep. #FarageBlamesImmigration

— Peter Harrison (@Harrison_Peter) December 7, 2014