Nigel Farage admits two of his children have German passports

Former Ukip leader's offspring to maintain free movement rights after Brexit

Nigel Farage has revealed two of his children possess British and German passports, meaning they will maintain their free movement rights in the European Union after Brexit.

The former Ukip leader, a defining figure in Britain’s vote to leave the EU, made the admission during an exchange with Nick Clegg on the former deputy prime minister’s podcast, Anger Management.

Mr Farage has four children, including two with his wife Kirsten Mehr, a German national. The couple confirmed they had separated last year.

In the interview with Mr Clegg, the 54-year-old said his children spoke “perfect German”, but denied they felt as European as they did British.

“That link to the German side of their family is clearly important to them, but their identity, if it comes to a football game, it’s pretty clear what side they’re going to actually support,” he said.

Last year, Mr Farage was forced to deny he was applying for German citizenship himself after he was spotted queueing at the German embassy.

A woman who witnessed his visit claimed to have overheard him apologise for not having a relevant document by responding: “You might have noticed I’ve been a bit busy lately.”

The vote to leave the EU has caused anger among many young people, who overwhelmingly voted to remain, with losing the right to travel freely among EU countries a particular source of frustration.

But Mr Farage said he was “astonished” young people viewed the bloc as having a “bright, shiny future”. “They will change their minds. What you can’t see is that the European project is disintegrating before our eyes,” he added.