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The majority of people in Britain realised long ago that Nigel Farage is an odious cretin who is best ignored.

Unfortunately, his despicable performance in the European Parliament yesterday still has potential to do real harm to the country.

The former UKIP leader launched an unhinged tirade against MEPs as they gathered to outline their Brexit red lines.

The hothead accused the politicians of acting like the Mafia simply for taking a different viewpoint to him on how the negotiations should proceed.

His attempt to make enemies of the other 27 EU nations at this point in the process is the very definition of stupidity.

Getting a decent Brexit deal is the most important and complicated challenge the UK has faced since the war. There is nothing to be gained from alienating the very people we will need to do business with.

Articulate Scottish voices in Strasbourg – such as the SNP’s Alyn Smith or Labour’s David Martin – will make sure MEPs know Farage does not speak for us.

But his outburst is still a worrying signal.

Farage and others like him are determined to pursue the hardest and most damaging of Brexits. It suits their interests to act as a wrecking ball to any possibility of securing a better deal.

(Image: Getty Images)

In contrast, the European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt made a poignant and level-headed speech that showed respect to all and pointed the way forward.

We can only hope our European friends listen to him and ignore the likes of Farage.

Clouds on horizon

Brexit might well be giving businesses the jitters, but there are clearly deeper problems when it comes to Scotland’s economy.

The latest GDP figures show our economy contracted at the end of the year.

It barely managed to grow at all during 2016. By way of comparison, the overall UK picture was better.

As sure as night follows day, the Scottish Government screamed “Brexit” as the cause of our economic troubles.

Yes, leaving the EU is a major act of self-harm.

But why is the rest of Britain doing better?

And there might be more trouble on the horizon.

Scotland officially assumes more financial power today, on tax and welfare for example.

Experts predict the budget will suffer more if the economy fails to improve.

While the SNP clearly have their work cut out here, don’t let that absolve the Tories at Westminster.

These are the people who just keep on piling more obstacles in the way of a smoothly running state.

Brexit was their fault, and IndyRef2 the all too inevitable response.

Maybe Nicola Sturgeon can give all this her attention when she finally returns from her tour of America ...