Nigel Farage has backtracked on his support for Donald Trump, saying the Republican presidential nominee’s remarks about sexually assaulting women were “ugly”.

The acting leader of UKIP was quizzed about his links to Mr Trump during a BBC Panorama special.

Mr Farage has appeared at one of Mr Trump’s rallies where he was introduced as “Mr Brexit”.

“There is no question that this recent tape, ugly as it is, has really hurt him badly, of course,” Mr Farage told Panorama.

“I just saw this whole thing as sort of, an extreme form of alpha-male boasting – it is the kind of boasting that some men do – it doesn’t mean that they actually do it.”

Mr Farage added that despite the controversy many of Mr Trump’s supporters would stand by him.

“You know, there are lots of things in this campaign that I couldn’t support in any way at all and nor do I. But I spoke to people who were Trump voters ... and do you know what – they couldn’t care less,” Mr Farage added, according to The Guardian.

“They couldn’t give a damn what Trump says, who he offends, because they see him as their weapon against the establishment and they see Hillary as being the epitome of that establishment.”

It comes after Cabinet minister Damian Green said Mr Trump’s comments were “offensive” but refused to say whether he thought he was “unfit” to become president.

What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? Show all 8 1 /8 What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On the leaked tape from 2005 where he talks about sexually assaulting women “I'm very embarrassed by it, I hate it, but it's locker room talk. It's one of those things. I will knock the hell out of Isis” Getty What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On Hillary Clinton “I hate to say it but if I win I'm going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation. There has never been so many lies, so much deception. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.” Rex What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On Bill Clinton “What he's done to women, there's never been anybody in the history of politics in this nation that's been so abusive to women.” AP What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On whether his alleged opposition to Iraq War had been disproven "It’s not debunked. It’s not debunked." Getty What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On exploiting tax loopholes "I absolutely used it, and so did Warren Buffett, and so did George Soros and so did many people who Hillary is getting money from." Getty What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On claims he's sexist “I have great respect for women. Nobody has more respect for women than I do.” Reuters What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On what he respects about Hillary Clinton “I will say this about Hillary - she doesn't quit, she doesn't give up. I tell it like it is. She's a fighter.” Reuters What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On his controversial immigration policies "It’s called extreme vetting. We’re going to areas like Syria, where they are coming in by the tens of thousands because of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton wanting to allow a 550 per cent increase [of refugees] over Obama. People are coming into this country. We have no idea who they are, where they are from and what their feelings are about this country." Getty

“I think it’s a seriously bad idea for government ministers from another country to try and advise democratic, friendly countries which way to vote,” Mr Green said on BBC’s Question Time.

“I'm not being unnecessarily pompous, I'm just being careful.”