His accusation of racism provoked an angry reaction from Amjad Bashir, a Ukip MEP candidate, who challenged Lord Heseltine to an open public debate on why he thinks Ukip is racist. Mr Bashir, who is standing as an MEP in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, said: “Michael Heseltine has gone on TV and told the national broadcaster that Ukip is intrinsically racist. That is a very, very serious comment indeed.