By Darren McCaffrey, Politics Reporter
Nigel Farage has defended his controversial remarks about the treatment of foreign-born HIV sufferers, telling Sky News "it is a sensible Christian thing to look after your family and your own community first".
The UKIP leader was accused of "scaremongering" in Thursday night's leaders' debate when he highlighted the issue of so-called health tourism.
Mr Farage claimed 7,000 people are diagnosed as HIV positive in the UK every year - and 60% of them are foreign nationals.
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He said: "You can come into Britain, from anywhere in the world, get diagnosed with HIV and get the retro-viral drugs which cost up to £25,000 per year, per patient.
"We need to put the National Health Service there for British people and families."
Speaking to Sky on the campaign trail in South Thanet, Mr Farage stood by the remarks.
He said: "What good Christian would say to an 85-year-old woman you can't have breast cancer treatment because we can't afford it, whilst at the same time shovelling billions of pounds on foreign aid, allowing people from all over the world to fly into Britain as health tourists to get a HIV test and drugs over £20,000 a year.
"It is a sensible Christian thing to look after your family and your own community first."
When asked if cancer was any different from HIV, Mr Farage said: "It isn't, it's just that on this particular issue in 2012 under David Cameron's premiership, that anyone from anywhere in the world can have a HIV test and gets given drugs."
His remarks are only likely to continue the controversy over his initial comments, which were the most tweeted moment of ITV's debate programme.
Mr Farage also described himself in the interview as a lapsed Anglican who believes in God, but rarely attends church.
He said: "I think there are millions like me, millions brought up to be Christian, who perhaps in adult life have rather put it at the back of their minds."
The faith of politicians has always proved to be a private matter, rather than play a significant role in campaigning, unlike in the United States.
Alistair Campbell famously told a journalist interviewing former prime minister Tony Blair that "we don't do God".
But David Cameron has argued Britain remains a Christian country, something Mr Farage agreed with.
He said: "Well that is perfectly clear, we have a Judeo-Christian culture, we even have a Judeo-Christian constitution - the role of the monarch and the way the whole country is set up.
"That doesn't mean we are not the most tolerant country in Europe in terms of all cultures and other religions we always have been but we mustn't forget who we are."
The UKIP leader spoke ahead of the emergence of a poll suggesting he had fallen behind the Conservatives in his bid to become an MP.
The party dismissed the result of the survey of voters in South Thanet - commissioned by wealthy UKIP donor Arron Banks who has pledged £1m to the eurosceptic party - as a "rogue" finding.
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