Outrage as Nigel Farage compares Black Lives Matter movement to the Taliban

The leader of the UK eurosceptic Brexit Party, Nigel Farage, sparked has outrage after calling the toppling of a slave trader's statue in Bristol the product of "mob rule" and compared activists from the Black Lives Matter movement to the Taliban.

On Sunday, Farage tweeted "A new form of the Taliban was born in the UK today. Unless we get moral leadership quickly our cities won't be worth living in", after the statue of Edward Colston was removed and thrown into the Bristol canal by protesters.

When asked about this tweet on Good Morning Britain, Farage explained that "the Taliban love to blow up and destroy historical monuments from a different time that they do not approve".

The morning news and talk show host Piers Morgan said Farage's comment was "incendiary" and asked for his opinion on the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue by Iraqi civilians.

Farage replied: "I understand why they did it, but don't forget those same people have been destroying historical monuments in Syria that are thousands of years old.

"If you want to remove statues, if you want to change your architecture, you do that democratically and sensibly."

Morgan has banned "stupid and racist" people from tuning into the breakfast show, after publically supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

He also backed the removal of the Colston statue and argued against Farage by underlining that Colston was "responsible for the deaths of 20,000 people" due to his membership of the Royal African Company, which was responsible for trafficking 80,000 men, women and children from Africa to the American continent.

"The only thing Nigel Farage is an expert on is his backside because every word out of his mouth stinks," replied lawyer and activist Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu during the televised debate.

Dr Mos-Shogbamimu later tweeted: "Nigel Farage embodies everything that is institutionally racist about the United Kingdom. He lives in the wrong era and century. He should be relegated to the shameful past of British history and stay there."

Professor Williams argued that the statue was an "open wound" in Bristol and that "people wanted it down", later adding that Farage "constantly incited racism and hate".

Farage claims in the heated debate reportedly concluded in his mic being muted by the programme.

The Brexit Party has been repeatedly under fire for allegations of racism and xenophobia as one the group’s main platforms.

After thousands took part in Black Lives Matter protests across the UK due to the murder of an unarmed African-American by a police officer in the US, crowds have been calling for the removal of historical monuments which glorify racism and British imperialism.

Students, academics and councillors have band together to demand the take-down of the much-discussed statue of the imperialist Cecil Rhodes at Oxford University.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected