Russell Brand and Nigel Farage trade barbs off-air

Russell Brand was exposed as a “messiah with feet of clay” in his Question Time clash with Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader has claimed.

Russell Brand  a messiah with feet of clay said Nigel Farage. Picture: Getty

The comedian condemned Mr Farage as a “pound-shop Enoch Powell” on the BBC programme, broadcast on Thursday night, which saw the two field questions on immigration and Brand’s anti-politics campaign.

Writing on his blog, Brand said Mr Farage was “worse than stagnant, he is a tribute act, he is a nostalgic spasm for a Britain that never was; an infinite cricket green with no-one from the colonies to raise the game, grammar schools on every corner and shamed women breastfeeding under giant parasols”.

He claimed that in a section of the programme not broadcast, Mr Farage backed parents’ rights to smack their children, saying: “It’s good for them to be afraid.”

Mr Farage said: “Everyone fancied that Mr Brand and I might butt heads, but actually, as we entered the studio, and his personal makeup artist straightened his chest hair for him – I kid you not – I realised that perhaps he might be a bit lighter-weight than expected.”

Responding to Mr Farage’s comments, Brand posted on Twitter: “It is not normal to have one person dedicated to straightening my chest hair. The other lad is off ill.”