A SOBBING Nigel Farage has told his fellow MEPs that they are his truest friends and leaving them will be the greatest sorrow of his life.

The former UKIP leader admitted that he had come to Strasbourg with hate in his heart, but the warm embrace of his transcontinental colleagues had changed him forever.

He said: “18 years ago I strutted in here, determined to tear the whole edifice down from the inside while collecting a healthy salary.

“But the unconditional love and support I’ve received from so many of you over the years has made this parliament into a family.

“I only stayed in UKIP because I couldn’t bear to leave. The only time I ever spoke my ‘native language’ was back there, where I became a ridiculous caricature of an Englishman who was everything I despised.

“Tragically, I was the architect of my own demise. But my heart will always be blue with a ring of yellow stars.”

Farage added: “Oh, the Italian fascists. I’ll miss you most of all.”