Labour accused Nigel Farage yesterday of “sinking to a new low” after he recruited a far-right Polish MEP to help maintain Ukip’s lucrative EU parliamentary group.

Polish Congress of the New Right Party MEP Robert Iwaszkiewicz came to the rescue of the Ukip-led Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group which faced collapse last week following the defection of Latvian Iveta Grigule.

Labour MEP Glenis Willmott said that the views of Mr Iwaszkiewicz, who recently told reporters that men hitting their wives could “help them come back down to Earth,” and his party were “sickening.”