Farage heckled after accusing MEPs of acting like ‘the mafia’

Nigel Far age was heckled in the European Parliament after accusing MEPs of “be having like the mafia” over the conditions of Brexit.

The former U kip leader was told to re tract his remark by the Parliament’ s president, Italian Antonio Ta ja ni, and said that, in respect of national sensitivities, he would instead brand them “gangsters ”.

The row came as the Parliament heard a string of senior ME P sin si st Britain can not enjoy “the same or better conditions” in its relations with the EU as full member states after Brexit.

Referring to the European Council’ s suggestion that Spain should be given ave to over future agreement son Gibraltar, Mr Far age said :“We believe in national selfdetermination, your aim and ambition is to destroy-nation-state-democracy. Gibraltaris clearly a deal-breaker on these terms.

“You have shown yourselves by these demands to be vindictive, to be nasty. All I can say is thank goodness we are leaving. You are be having like the mafia. You think we are a hostage– we are not, we are free to go.”

The European Parliament’ s B rex it coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, told MEP she expected the UK to return to the EU in the future, when a younger generation recognises withdrawal as “a loss of time, a waste of energy and a stupidity ”.

ME P sin Strasbourg were debating the European Parliament’ s red lines for any withdrawal agreement in two years.

Picture: AP.