Donald Trump will win the US presidency because the same groups of people who swung the Brexit referendum will turn out to vote for him, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has predicted.

Mr Farron said that the fiery Republican candidate will be boosted, like the Leave cause was, by a high turnout from people who do not usually vote.

"My gut tells me he won't win. Do people really want his hand on the button? But, logically, I assume he will," Mr Farron said to delegates at the party conference.

Mr Farron was taking part in a jovial conversation with comedian Matt Forde in which he admitted joining in with offensive football chants at the Blackburn Rovers ground directed at then Cabinet minister and local MP Jack Straw.

The Lib Dem leader said he felt sorry for disgraced Labour MP Keith Vaz, who resigned as chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee after reports he paid two male escorts for their services.

"Right or wrong, it's utterly humiliating for him personally, and probably more so for his family. I do feel sorry for him."

Mr Farron then joked about reports Mr Vaz had tried to conceal his identity from the escorts by claiming to be a washing machine salesman.

"That doesn't sound very plausible to me. I'll be very careful with what I say, I was going to say he doesn't look like he'd be any good with his hands. He doesn't look like a horny handed man of toil, does he?"

When told that a YouGov poll detailing the sexual fantasies of different party supporters showed Lib Dems like bondage, while Tories fantasise about sex with a sports star, Mr Farron said: "I think this is something on which I need an evidence-based approach to things,and it's a bizarre hobby I'm not fully conversant with. I apologise for not knowing the party well enough."

Mr Farron said his predecessor Nick Clegg has been very helpful to him, and that he forgave ex-leader Lord Ashdown for his tendency to broadcast his views on political matters.

"He tends to give his advice sometimes a little more publicly - just in case I haven't heard. He's a bit of a hero of mine so I'm very tolerant and forgiving of his occasional public advice," Mr Farron said.

Mr Farron insisted the Lid Dem price for taking part in any future coalition would be proportional representation.

The Lib Dem leader launched a strong attack on the pro-Jeremy Corbyn Momentum organisation in the Labour Party.

"The people around him are some pretty hard-bitten Trotskyists and they have been trying to take over the Labour Party for generations.

"They don't give a monkeys about winning a general election, they want to take over the Labour Party, and so they have."