Nigel Farage came under fire today for supporting electronic cigarettes after having taken tens of thousands of pounds from a manufacturer of the product.

The UKIP leader has appeared in a YouTube video urging Brussels to drop plans to outlaw the tobacco substitute. He praised the “remarkable” products produced by smaller companies.

One such manufacturer is Pillbox 38, a Blackburn-based firm that produces a range of e-cigarettes called Totally Wicked.

Records from the Electoral Commission show that UKIP accepted £25,000 last May from the company. That was followed by £11,000 from the group’s founder, Jason Cropper, two months later.

The European Commission had sought to outlaw e-cigarettes completely. On the day in December that a key vote was due to take place, a video featuring