Farage’s view on HIV immigrants is ‘stomach turning’ says Nicky Morgan

EDUCATION Secretary Nicky Morgan has described Nigel Farage’s comments on immigrants receiving free HIV treatment as ‘stomach turning’ – despite half of the public agreeing with the Ukip leader.

The Tory frontbencher also signalled she would quit the Cabinet if David Cameron entered a power-sharing deal with Mr Farage.

Mr Cameron has urged Ukip supporters to ‘come home’ to the Conservatives, but has stopped short of ruling out having to rely on the party if he falls short of a majority.

Mr Farage sparked controversy last week when he used the televised leaders’ debate to challenge giving expensive drugs to HIV sufferers not born in Britain. Mrs Morgan yesterday condemned the remarks, which it is claimed were planned in advance as part of a ‘shock and awe’ strategy. She said: ‘To say that in a calculated way to appeal to your core vote is pretty stomach-turning.’

However, a poll found half of voters agree with Ukip that immigrants should not immediately receive free HIV treatment.

Last night Mr Farage said: ‘I’d love her to go and explain to all the women in their eighties that cannot get cancer treatment that the reason we cannot afford it is that we’re treating people from all over the world who have never even been to Britain before. They get an airplane into Heathrow, get an HIV test and qualify for £25,000 of drugs.

‘If she wants to go out and explain that to the British public, I suspect the public would find her comments stomach-churning.’

According to Public Health England, there were 6,000 diagnoses of HIV in the UK in 2013. Where the country of origin is known, 54 per cent of new diagnoses were foreign-born patients.

Aids charity Avert has estimated that the cost of treating someone with HIV in the UK is around £1 ,000 per year.