Mass immigration has led to the growth of Muslim ‘ghettos’ in Britain which are run under Sharia Law, Nigel Farage declared last night.

In an interview with US news channel Fox News, Mr Farage said the authorities had turned a ‘blind eye’ to the growth of ghettos where ‘the police and all the normal agents of the law have withdrawn and that is where Sharia law has come in’.

Mr Farage's controversial remarks came after US terror ‘expert’ Steve Emerson sparked ridicule by claiming Birmingham was 'totally Muslim' and religious police squads were roaming the streets of London.

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Ukip leader Nigel Farage pictured during an interview with Fox News. He has now claimed Britain has ghettos controlled by Sharia law

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles accused Mr Farage of ‘pandering to peoples’ worst fears’ and branded his comments ‘irresponsible and wrong’.

The Ukip leader was interviewed yesterday by presenter Sean Hannity on the causes of the Paris massacre, following his comments last week in which he blamed a ‘fifth column’ and ‘gross multiculturalism’ for the attacks.

In yesterday’s interview, Mr Hannity asked why Britain and other countries had allowed ‘people to come to the country, not assimilate, separate, take their land ostensibly and then risk even being at war with them’.

Mr Farage said: ‘I agreed with your sentiments entirely’.

He added: ‘So 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blind eye being turned and you see the growth of ghettos where the police and all the normal agents of the law have withdrawn and that is where Sharia Law has come in.’

Mr Farage said the imposition of Sharia law meant there had been no prosecutions for the ‘tens of thousands’ of female genital mutilations carried out in Britain.

He said ‘moral cowardice’ was to blame for the police not trying to catch Muslim men involved in child abuse in parts of Northern England.

Mr Farage's remarks, to the US TV chanel Fox News, came after the network's terror 'expert' Steven Emerson earlier this week claimed Birmingham was a 'no-go' zone for non-Muslims

NIGEL FARAGE: FRENCH CITIES HAVE 'NO-GO ZONES' FOR NON-MUSLIMS Most big French cities have 'no-go zones' which non-Muslims cannot enter that are the result of European countries' 'moral cowardice' in preventing the development of large ghettos, Nigel Farage has claimed. The Ukip leader said such 'no-go zones' were increasing across Europe and he was 'hoping and praying' it did not occur in Britain, The Telegraph reported. He said Britain had been turning a blind eye to preachers who had arrived in the country from the Middle East and were saying things for which the rest of the population would be arrested. '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.' Advertisement

Mr Farage said: ‘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.

‘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.’

He said: ‘We even, a few years ago, had some quite clear examples where the immigration services were actually allowing women to come into Britain from Pakistan and elsewhere to join polygamous marriages something that is against our law.

But Mr Pickles said the comments were ‘irresponsible and wrong’, and accused the Ukip leader of both ‘running down’ Britain and ‘pandering to peoples’ worst fears’.

He said: ‘It is disappointing that Nigel Farage is running our country down on American television, and his comments are both irresponsible and wrong.

‘This Government is standing up for British values and British liberties.

‘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 peoples’ worst fears.’

Fox News sparked controversy earlier this week when it interviewed a terror expert who said Birmingham is run by hard-line Islamists.

Steven Emerson said ‘there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim, where non-Muslims just simply don’t go in’.

Mr Emerson, whose website states he is an ‘internationally-recognised expert on terrorism’, later said sorry for his ‘terrible error’.

How Birmingham responded to US 'terror expert' who claimed Britain's second city was 'totally Muslim' and 'non-Muslims simply don't go in'

A US terror ‘expert’ sparked ridicule this week after claiming Birmingham was 'totally Muslim' and 'non-Muslims just simply don't go in'.

Steve Emerson made the bizarre comments on Fox News in the US - also claiming there were religious police squads roaming the streets of London who 'seriously wound' people in non-Muslim dress.

David Cameron labelled him a 'complete idiot'. He added: ‘When I heard this, frankly I choked on my porridge.'

Mr Farage's remarks, to the US TV chanel Fox News, came after terror 'expert' Steven Emerson told the network's Jeanine Pirro that Birmingham was a 'no-go' zone for non-Muslims

It also sparked bafflement on Twitter under the hashtag #FoxNewsFacts, with users suggesting his theory was about as likely as Brummie TV presenter Adrian Chiles being a radical cleric.

Online wits used images of Mecca Bingo, the Queen wearing a headscarf and bearded football manager Roy Keane to satirise the bizarre statement made by Steve Emerson on American television.

Others made a series of groan-worthy puns - including jokes about 'Halal Kitty', 'Burqa King' and 'Mosque Bros'.

Mocking: This was one of many #foxnewsfacts tweets making fun of the claim that Birmingham is a Muslim-only city; it shows Aston Villa's former assistant manager Roy Keane

Pun: One tweet suggested that 'Halal Kitty' would become a popular toy in the wake of the controversy

Mecca: The name of the popular bingo chain was linked to Islam's holiest city by several online wits

Under wraps: Some people compared this image of the Queen wearing a headscarf to the Islamic burqa

The controversy originated when Mr Emerson, a self-styled expert on terrorism, was participating in a Fox News discussion in the wake of the attacks on Charlie Hebdo's office in Paris.

'In Britain, it's not just no-go zones,' he claimed. 'There are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim where non-Muslims just simply don't go in.'

The pundit later apologised for his blunder - just 22 per cent of the city's residents are Muslim, compared to 46 per cent describing themselves as Christian - but could not stop the bemused reaction.

Amidst the backlash, he announced that he would donate £500 to Birmingham Children's Hospital in a bid to atone for his 'terrible, inexcusable error'.

Among those criticising Mr Emerson were Prime Minister David Cameron, who said yesterday: 'When I heard this, frankly I choked on my porridge. This guy is clearly a complete idiot.'

Sporting: A cricket writer posted this picture of England batsman Moeen Ali as part of the trending hashtag

Lookalikes: One Twitter user pointed out that children's sweets Ice Gems look like models of domed mosques

Band: Duran Duran have been reborn as 'Quran Quran' in this jokey tweet

Veiled: The decoration of the Selfridges store in central Birmingham was compared

Battle: A Doctor Who image is compared to a horde of rampaging women in another mocking message

Others were even more scathing, using the hashtag #foxnewsfacts to mock the controversy.

Journalist Richard Adams tweeted a photograph of Roy Keane, former assistant manager of Aston Villa who now sparks a large beard, writing: 'Dangerous bearded fanatics have a history of running Birmingham's sporting institutions.'

In a similar vein, cricket writer James Marsh posted a picture of England star Moeen Ali with the caption: 'Terrifying photo of how a typical Muslim from Birmingham guards the city gates against infidels.'

Several users put up photographs of Mecca Bingo branches, joking that the name of the company is a reference to the holiest city in Islam.

Map: This mocked-up image shows Birmingham in the middle of Iraq

Sporting occasion: Journalist Robin Wigglesworth shared this photograph of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and claimed it was Aston Villa's game against Birmingham City

Tower: This image purports to show a minaret towering over Birmingham - but it's actually the BT Tower

Covering up: Even jam has to dress modestly in Birmingham, according to web jokers

Pop culture: Harry Potter was also roped in to the ongoing Twitter storm

Convert? Lawrence of Arabia wearing a headdress with superficial similarities to the burqa

Mix-up: The Brighton Pavilion, decorated in a Mughal Indian style, could be mistaken for a mosque by an unobservant witness

One tweeter, @enoch_macdhu, sent out a photograph of a Meccano box, adding: 'British toy manufacturer threatened with fatwa after writing Mecca-no on construction kit boxes.'

Mark Ferguson wrote: 'The Vicar of Dibley was reproduced for transmission in Birmingham as The Imam of Dudley.'

And BBC DJ Nihal joked: 'Ozzy Osborne was part of a Muslim sleeper cell known as Black Shaheed. Ozzy short for Osman.'

Professional comedians also got in on the trend - Al Murray tweeted: 'Ming the Merciless is named after the centre of Birmingham.'

Puns: Many couldn't resist riffing on the names of British institutions such as Moss Bros and Black Sabbath

Bafflement: In time-honoured fashion, the ironic hashtag was soon circulating on Twitter

Politican Tom Copley weighed in with a pun, writing: 'Birmingham has a chain of fast food restaurants called Burqa King.'

Another joker, Wes White, started a petition on Change.org with the title 'Let non-Muslims back in to the city of Birmingham'.

He wrote: 'Birmingham had loads of non-muslims in the last time I was there, so this is a real shock.

'We call upon the city of Birmingham and other non-specified British cities to once again allow non-Muslims to roam their streets.'

Mr Emerson announced yesterday that he would give a donation to Birmingham Children's Hospital, and the hospital confirmed today that it had received a £500 gift from the pundit.

A spokesman said: 'We would like to thank Mr Emerson for his donation. The money he has donated will go towards improving the lives of thousands of patients and their families who are treated at our hospital each year.

'We hope that the public reaction to his comments have shown what a fantastic city Birmingham is to live and work in.'

Most residents of the city have stood up for their home, praising its diversity and denying that there are significant problems between the different races living there.