Ukip's Douglas Carswell says Nigel Farage on HIV was 'wrong on so many levels'

It appears the party's internal feud is far from over

Douglas Carswell has previously claimed Farage's comments on immigrants with HIV were 'ill-advised' (Getty Images)

Douglas Carswell has threatened to reignite the struggle for power at the top of Ukip after he accused leader Nigel Farage of making arguments during the general election that were “mean-spirited” and “wrong on so many levels”.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Pienaar Politics, Mr Carswell said that as a party which “didn’t do as well as it wanted” in the election, Ukip needed to ask “awkward” questions.

It’s less than two weeks since Mr Farage emerged victorious from an internal battle that saw deputy chair Suzanne Evans and economics spokesman Patrick O’Flynn both step down from their roles.

And asked if he himself had “settled his differences” with Mr Farage, Ukip’s only MP said he had “always been the leader of Ukip and I’ve never, never questioned that at all”.

Hitting out at Mr Farage’s much-publicised criticism during the election TV debates of people with HIV who come to Britain and receive NHS treatment, Mr Carswell said: “I think the comments about HIV were plain wrong”.

“[They were] wrong on so many levels. Not just wrong because they were electorally unhelpful but just wrong because they were wrong.”

Mr Carswell suggested the party would do better to remember that “there’s something wonderfully generous about this country… and if we frame debates that are mean-spirited I think a lot of people in this country will be put off”.

Earlier this month, Ukip's only MP dismissed suggestions he wanted the top job, but hinted at his displeasure at the way Mr Farage resigned and then withdrew his resignation after he received a vote of confidence from the party’s national committee.

Mr Carswell suggested the party should not take “big decisions” about the leadership in the immediate aftermath of a tough election battle, and added then that he thought some elements of the election campaigning had been “ill-advised”.

At the time of Ukip’s leadership spat, Nigel Farage told the Today programme that the party was “100 per cent united” behind him.

A spokesperson for Mr Farage defended the HIV comments, saying: “The issue of health tourism is both real and costs the NHS millions per year. It is one of many problems that bedevil the NHS, and dealing with it, alongside many other problems is part of a greater package to ensure that the people of this country can access the world class healthcare they both deserve and expect.”