Ukip has demanded that official documents are only printed in English - in a bid to force immigrants to learn English.

The party said that translating forms into foreign languages discouraged migrants from learning the language.

It comes after Ukip leader Nigel Farage sparked controversy after claiming he ‘didn’t feel very comfortable’ travelling on trains out of London because everybody on board was speaking a foreign language.

Culture spokesman Peter Whittle, speaking in London this morning, said encouraging migrants to speak English would help communities integrate and stop different ethnic groups living separately

Mr Farage said on Kent-bound trains from London you he could not hear English ‘audibly spoken in the carriage’ until reaching the suburbs. He said: ‘Does that make me feel slightly awkward? Yes.’

Culture spokesman Peter Whittle, speaking in London this morning, said encouraging migrants to speak English would help communities integrate and stop different ethnic groups living separately.

He said the other political parties had pursued an agenda of multiculturalism because they are 'fainthearted about Britain' and 'indifferent to our values'.

In a speech in Boston, Lincolnshire, Mr Whittle said: 'Instead of striving for a harmonious, multi-ethnic society united by a common sense of identity, Britain adopted the approach of multiculturalism.

'This policy encouraged people to remain separate, to identify themselves first and foremost not as British citizens, but as members of a particular cultural, religious or ethnic group.

'The motives behind this approach were at best well-meaning but naïve; at worst, based on a distaste for the idea of the nation, and the British nation in particular.

'We have seen where this has led us. We have a situation now where in many towns and cities, different communities and cultures live side by side but separately.'

Ukip leader Nigel Farage, speaking to the EU president Jean-Claude Juncker in Strasbourg yesterday, has previously admitted hearing foreign languages on the train makes him feel uncomfortable

Mr Farage said on Kent-bound trains from London you he could not hear English ‘audibly spoken in the carriage’ until reaching the suburbs. He said: ‘Does that make me feel slightly awkward? Yes’

FARAGE REPORTS BBC TO POLICE OVER HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU Nigel Farage last night reported the BBC to police over a joke, claiming it had broadcast false information that could damage his election chances. During Have I Got News For You on Friday, journalist Camilla Long said she'd spent more time in South Thanet than its would-be MP. Mr Farage, who said he had held more than 20 public meetings in the constituency since January and has a residence there, said it was a 'blatant' breach of electoral law. Asked if Ukip was now 'at war' with the BBC, he said: 'I think we have reached the point now where it is.' Kent Police confirmed that it had received the complaint, but said no action would be taken. As she appeared as a guest panellist on the show last week, Miss Long was shown quotes from an article she wrote about South Thanet last month. Miss Long laughed as they read out her descriptions of the area, that included ‘bilious’, ‘grubby’, ‘Chernobyl-like’ and ‘a small nodule of erupted spleen’, before she explained: ‘It was the truth.’ She then made her claim that by the time she had written the piece she had visited the seat more than the Ukip leader. Mr Farage last night accused the BBC of reducing the party to just a ‘bit part’ in its news bulletins and claimed this was because it received more than 30 million euros in funding in the past seven years. He said: ‘There was an Ofcom ruling that said there are four major parties in British politics. ‘Sky News and ITV News have recognised this but the BBC, who are not bound by Ofcom, just haven’t recognised that. ‘In much of the BBC’s election coverage we’re reduced to being just a little bit part player and we’re really unhappy about it.’ Advertisement

Mr Whittle said that people moving to Britain should learn to speak English.

He said: 'We believe that a common language is the basic, vital glue which holds a society together.

'Whe use of multi-lingual formats on official documents acts as a disincentive to learning that common language, and indeed can prolong a sense of separateness.

'Indeed an inability to speak the common language puts people at a disadvantage, acting as a barrier to employment and to their long term prospects.

'We therefore propose that all official documents should be in English only, or where appropriate, in Welsh or Scottish Gaelic.

'This is simple common sense.

'It will in time help create the genuinely inclusive society that is our priority.'

Mr Whittle said that multiculturalism 'has led to confusion, separation and division'.

He blamed Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, who he accused of being 'fainthearted about Britain'.

He said: 'They are indifferent to our values, or fearful of speaking up for them.'

Mr Whittle said that a reluctance to challenge multiculturalism had led to problems such as the Rotherham child grooming scandal.

He said: 'We have seen only in the past year how a fear of rocking the multicultural boat led, in Rotherham, to the systematic and long term abuse of hundreds of young girls going unpunished.

'We have seen too how some cultural practises which run counter to our values and way of life – such as honour killings, female genital mutilation and forced marriage – have been allowed to happen or have been ignored in the name of cultural sensitivity.'

Mr Whittle said that children should be taught in schools to be proud of Britain. He added: 'Their (the political establishment's) embarrassment about our past, their lack of concern for our history, has permeated our education system and indeed our wider culture.