Quote of the day

"At a public speech in the West Midlands in early July I used a term which I subsequently gather under certain circumstances could be interpreted as pejorative to individuals and possibly cause offence. Although quite clearly no such personal usage was intended, I understand from UKIP party chairman Steve Crowther and leader Nigel Farage that I must not use the terminology in the future, nor will I and sincerely regret any genuine offence which might have been caused or embarrassment to my colleagues."

Is there anything sweeter than a pompous right-wing windbag forced into offering a squirming apology? UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom initially trivialised criticism of his reference to "Bongo Bongo Land", dismissively commenting: "If I've offended anybody in Bongo Bongo Land I will write to their ambassador at the Court of St James". But Nigel Farage and the party's top brass took a different attitude and have put apologetic words into Bloom's mouth.

Incidentally, this is the same Godfrey Bloom who once heckled a German counterpart with a Nazi slogan and who has claimed that man-made global warming is a myth...