Nigel Farage accused of deploying Nazi-style propaganda as Remain crash poster unveiling with rival vans

American playwright Bonnie Greer, who has famously clashed with Ukip leader in the past, compares him to Nazi military leader Hermann Goering

Political Editor

Thursday 16 June 2016 07:44 EDT

Ukip leader Nigel Farage poses during a media launch for an EU referendum poster in London, Britain June 16, 2016 (Reuters)

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Nigel Farage has been accused of adopting Nazi style propaganda tactics to help win the EU referendum.

The Ukip leader unveiled a new poster showing a vast queue of refugees stretching into the distance, and deployed a fleet of vans emblazoned with the image to follow him around central London.

Next to it was the headline “Breaking Point” and underneath it “the EU has failed us all”.

But as with the "battle" on the Thames on Wednesday, Mr Farage's stunt was crashed by a counter-protest by Remain campaigners.

At least two smaller vans showed Mr Farage's face next to a pint and lit cigarette, suggesting the Ukip leader could be the next Health Minister and underlined with the slogan: "Don't wake up with Nigel next Friday".

Ukip said its vans showed a real picture of migrants entering Slovenia, a country that joined the EU in 2004 and had failed to control its border.

The poster also appeared in major national newspapers including the Telegraph, the Daily Star, and the Daily Express.

The sentiment behind it was condemned by Bonnie Greer, the American playwright, who famously won plaudits for taking on the BNP leader Nick Griffin when they both appeared on the BBC's Question Tme.

She tweeted an image of the poster alongside a quote from the Nazi military chief Hermann Goering and the hashtag Farage.

“All you have to do it tell them they are being attacked. Works the same way in any country”.

The SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon described the poster as “disgusting” while one of her MPs, Pete Wishard, also weighed in saying that a “vote for leave is pretty much become a vote for petty xenophobia and anti immigrant rhetoric”.

The author John O’Farrell added: “No white migrants then? The debate has sunk to a new low, with Farage exposed as the racist we always knew he was.”

What to believe about the EU referendum

Mr Farage unveiled the poster outside the EU’s headquarters in the UK – that used to house Conservative Central Office.

The poster vans then went on a tour of central London.

The EU referendum debate has so far been characterised by bias, distortion and exaggeration. So until 23 June we we’re running a series of question and answer features that explain the most important issues in a detailed, dispassionate way to help inform your decision.

What is Brexit and why are we having an EU referendum?

Does the UK need to take more control of its sovereignty?

Could the UK media swing the EU referendum one way or another?

Will the UK benefit from being released from EU laws?

Will we gain or lose rights by leaving the European Union?

Will Brexit mean that Europeans have to leave the UK?

Will leaving the EU lead to the break-up of the UK?

What will happen to immigration if there's Brexit?

Will Brexit make the UK more or less safe?

Will the UK benefit from being released from EU laws?

Will leaving the EU save taxpayers money and mean more money for the NHS?

What will Brexit mean for British tourists booking holidays in the EU?