Nigel Farage has claimed that "ghettos" in parts of the UK are being run according to Sharia law as authorities "turn a blind eye" because of their "moral cowardice".

The Ukip leader claimed that “big ghettos” had sprung up in Britain and Europe where child sex abuse, female genital mutilation, extremism and Sharia law were allowed to flourish.

"We've been turning a blind eye to preachers of hate that have been coming here from the Middle East and saying things for which the rest of us would be arrested," he added.

“In parts of northern England we've seen the sexual grooming of under-age girls committed by Muslim men, in the majority, and for all of these things we are seeing the law not being applied equally, we're seeing the police forces not doing their job because we've suffered from moral cowardice.

"We have through mass immigration and through not checking the details of those people who have come to our countries, we have allowed big ghettos to develop and when it comes to confronting tough issues we're run a mile and that is why we're in the mess we're in, we've been led very badly."

Mr Farage claimed that tens of thousands of young women had been subjected to female genital mutilation in Britain, although official estimates put the figure in the hundreds at most because families usually travel abroad for the procedure.

"Wherever you look you see this blind eye being turned and you see the growth of ghettos where the police and all the normal agents of the law have withdrawn and that is where Sharia law has come in and you know it got so bad in Britain that our last archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of our church, actually said we should accept Sharia law," he added.

Mr Farage also alleged that there were “no-go zones” for non-Muslims in large French cities, while discussing the Paris attacks.

His comments came after a self-proclaimed American expert was ridiculed for telling Fox News that Birmingham was a “totally Muslim” city where “non-Muslims just simply don’t go”.

The Ukip leader's views were welcomed by conservative Fox News presenter Sean Hannity, who had a long-running spat with Russell Brand during the summer over the Israel-Gaza war.

"Why would Great Britain, France, Belgium or any other country, the Netherlands, why would they allow people to come to the country, not assimilate, separate, take their land ostensibly and risk even being at war with them when sharia, if you're coming from a country that you grew up under sharia, those values directly contradict the values of Western countries, why would anybody allow that?" Mr Hannity asked.

Mr Farage said he agreed with the host’s sentiments “entirely” and pinned the blame on a “hopelessly out of touch” European political class.

The Europsceptic MEP had previously blamed a “fifth column” of Islamic extremists in Europe for atrocities including the Paris attacks and vowed to “be more courageous in standing up for our Judeo-Christian culture”.

In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday, Mr Farage emphasised that he believed there were only "no-go areas" for non-Muslims in France, not Britain.

"There are small sections of that community who are becoming ever further away from what we would call the Judeo-Christian culture of the United Kingdom," he added.

"We need to be honest about this and say we've made some terrible mistakes in the past and, to make things better, we must recognise first what we have got wrong."

In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France New York, USA The Empire State Building is lit up in the colors of the French flag to pay tribute to the victims of the shooting by gunmen at the Paris offices of weekly satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in the Manhattan borough of New York In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France London, UK The colours of the French national flag are reflected in the fountains of Trafalgar Square as they are projected in tribute to the Paris terror attacks, on the The National Gallery in London In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France London, UK Tower Bridge is illuminated with the colours of the French Tricolore flag, in support of the victims of recent terrorist attacks in France In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France London, UK The London Eye is alternately lit in the colours of the French national flag in tribute to the 17 people killed in the Paris terror attacks, in London In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France Rome, Italy Rome's city hall (Campidoglio) is lighted with France's colors, blue, white and red in Rome in remembrance of the victims of an attack against Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly which killed 12 people in Paris In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France Berlin, Germany The writing on the facade of the French embassy reads 'Je suis Charlie!' (I am Charlie!) to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack on French satire magazine 'Charlie Hebdo', during a vigil at the French embassy in Berlin In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France Paris, France A sign on the Arc de Triomphe reads "Paris is Charlie" in solidarity with the victims of the shooting at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France Paris, France As a tribute for the victims of terrorist attack the lights of the Eiffel Tower were turned off for five minutes at 8pm local time, the day after the massacre in Paris

Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, said it was “disappointing” to see Mr Farage denigrating the UK on American television, calling his comments “both irresponsible and wrong”.

“This Government is standing up for British values and British liberties,” he added. “We've clamped down on the excessive use of foreign translation by councils, re-affirmed the importance of Christianity in public life, tackled divisive politics in Tower Hamlets, and are taking firm action to stop the criminal abuse of children.

"Mr Farage should show some leadership rather than pandering to people's worst fears."